


as captains

by whitemiists



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M, First Crush, First Dates, First Time, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Kissing, Kissing in the Rain, Long-Distance Relationship, Love Confessions, Making Out, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Pining, Secret Relationship, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-15
Updated: 2015-08-02
Packaged: 2018-03-13 03:58:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 37,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3366950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitemiists/pseuds/whitemiists
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p><b>#13:</b> Eridanus</p>
  <p>“I thought it would be nice to be alone, hm?” He smiles vaguely, as if he hadn’t just made her heart jump out her chest with those words alone. “I wanted to show you where the sky looks best.”</p>
  <p>She perks up, quickening her steps to match his more easily. “Yeah? Even more beautiful than back there?”</p>
  <p>“Definitely.”</p>
  <p>And just as he whispers it, they step into an open clearing, and enter a world that’s made of nothing but the starry night sky.</p>
</blockquote><p>A collection of Daichi x Yui stories, cross-posted from tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One On One

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posted from [tumblr](http://whitemiists.tumblr.com/tagged/daiyui), as per a request C:
> 
> These fics are rather short by my standards, so I decided to post them all under a collection rather than separately. Any time I write another DaiYui fic, I'll also post it under here in the future as well.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yui is disappointed, Daichi is clueless, and Sugawara wonders how his captain can be one of the most intuitive players on the team when he’s so freaking dense.

It took all of her courage for Yui to ask out the boys’ volleyball team captain — a boy she’d been interested in since middle school and had dreamed of dating on multiple occasions, sometimes in the middle of class  _just_  as the teacher called on her to read a passage from the textbook. And when he actually said  _yes,_ she could barely contain her jitters when she arrived at their meeting spot early.

So when he finally turned up and a familiar, silver-haired setter trailed after him, her heart understandably sank all the way to her stomach.

“Sawamura,” she greeted him casually, trying not to let the crippling disappointment show on her face as her eyes strayed over his shoulder. “…Sugawara.”

“Yo, Michimiya.” Daichi grinned his usual, easygoing smile, holding up a hand as he caught up with her. “I hope you don’t mind that I invited Suga? When you said you wanted my help buying new supplies for the girls’ team, I figured he’d be a big help. He always helps Shimizu buy the supplies for our team, so he’ll know better than me.”

“Good afternoon, Michimiya,” Sugawara greeted her cheerfully, waving an enthusiastic hand. Much like Daichi, he had his own signature smile; it was wide and bright and welcoming, and like a majority of the student body and even a few faculty members, Yui had never been able to refuse it.

Trying to pull her heart back up to her chest, she did her best to grin wide as she exclaimed, “Of course! The more the merrier!”

Suga was, after all, a good friend of hers as well, one who had helped her strategize often for the girls’ team, or had helped her clean up after practice when the other girls high-tailed it out of the gym with excuses on their tongues. Even today he’d taken time out of his day off and come specially to help her buy supplies for her team, and as disappointed as she was that Daichi had completely misunderstood her intentions in asking him out, she was also touched by Sugawara’s thoughtfulness.

Still, she felt silly that she’d spent the past hour trying to tame the rat’s nest that was usually her hair, or that she had even pinned a clip on the side of her head. The T-shirt she was wearing was new, and last night she had carefully cleaned off all the mud and grass stains from her sneakers. It all seemed so pointless now.

“Well, shall we go?” Daichi suggested cluelessly, gesturing towards the nearby sports shop they had agreed to meet outside.

“Sure,” she agreed, averting her eyes. She didn’t think she could meet his gaze without feeling disheartened, and then he would  _know_ and she didn’t think she could stand that.

Shoving her fists into her pockets and pouting at the ground, she followed her would-be date.

.

Sugawara fell into step beside her as they wandered through the crowd and towards the shop. He was silent for a while, glancing between her and Daichi’s back contemplatively but not saying anything, but eventually he sighed loudly.

“This was supposed to be a date, wasn’t it?” he asked her quietly.

“ _Eh?”_ Yui was so shocked that she almost tripped over air. As it was, in her shock she completely did not see the man coming towards her from the opposite direction and rammed right into him. She would have bowled over and fallen flat on her face if Sugawara and the stranger hadn’t both reached out to steady her at the last second, and she righted herself with a flush on her face.

“S-Sorry!” she apologized furiously to the man, her cheeks burning from embarrassment, as he chuckled and assured her he was all right before heading about his way.

Sugawara raised an eyebrow as he let go of her shoulder. “I’ll take that as a yes?”

“H-H-How…” She swallowed thickly, unable to get the words out. “How did you know?”

He smiled. “Well, I can’t say I haven’t been waiting for this day to come.” Her red cheeks must have darkened, because he flashed her a sideways glance and couldn’t stop himself from laughing softly. “And you do seem a lot more fidgety than usual.”

She exhaled loudly, berating herself for not managing to keep up an act of nonchalance. He’d seen right through her, and now he knew just how pathetic she was for possibly being the  _only_ girl who could screw up something as simple as asking a boy out on a date. She wasn’t sure how she’d even look him in the eyes after today.

“It’s not your fault, you know,” Sugawara piped up thoughtfully beside her. Perhaps he’d seen the mortification on her face and was attempting to cheer her up about her failure. “Daichi is…” He sighed again, unable to stop himself from lightly rolling his eyes. “Daichi is just very dense when it comes to this stuff. I don’t think he’s even considered the possibility of any girl liking him  _that_ way.”

Her eyes widened, and she hopped a bit in her next step as she burst out vehemently, “ _How_ can he think that! I mean, he’s  _so…”_

She caught herself just in time, before her unfiltered mouth could embarrass her by blathering out the gooey, romantic things she often thought about the boys’ team captain in the privacy of her own mind. Still, her face had always been an open book — a fact she absolutely  _hated —_ and she couldn’t keep her face from burning at the words she’d been  _about_ to say. And judging by Sugawara’s telling smirk, he knew exactly the kind of poetry she’d been about to gush.

“Should I find some excuse to leave you two alone?” he suggested, just a hint of slyness in his tone that she’d never even imagined he would be capable of.

“Of course not, Sugawara!” she denied, her voice only a little more shrill than usual. “Even if today’s not turning out as I’d hoped, I’m still happy that you’re here and I’m thankful you came just for me. Don’t think otherwise, silly!”

He was visibly taken aback by her words for a moment, but then his expression melted into one of flattered shyness. He scratched the back of his head, and they shared smiles.

“Oi, you two!” Daichi called from somewhere up ahead, waving an arm over his shoulder. “You’re so slow!” He’d already made it all the way to the store entrance while they were still immersed in the crowd.

Yui sighed.  _This_ was what her first date with Daichi had become.

.

Just outside the store stood an independent stall that sold keychains and other small trinkets. By the time Sugawara and Yui reached him, Daichi was absorbed in checking out the merchandise. His finger tapped against his chin thoughtfully as he stared at one particular item.

"Is there something you want, Sawamura?" Yui asked curiously, peeking over his shoulder and trying to follow his line of sight so she could see what had his interest.

"Mmm… yeah," he replied distractedly, reaching into his pocket for his wallet. He handed a few bills to the stall owner and then picked up one of the keychains from the line-up. Yui and Sugawara both leaned in curiously to see. It was a simple, silver ring with a tiny, blue and yellow volleyball dangling off the chain.

"It’s so cute!" Yui exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.

Daichi smiled in what looked to be relief. “I’m glad you think so, Michimiya.” And to both their surprise, he held it out towards her.

Yui blinked down at it a bit dumbly, her lips parting slightly in utter surprise. “Eh?”

Daichi had to pick up her hand — not realizing that he practically electrocuted her skin from his touch — and place the keychain in her palm. “The girls have a practice match next week, right?” he asked with a wide grin. “Consider it a good luck charm. You like to hang straps off your gym bag, don’t you?”

She most certainly did, and her ears were already burning at the thought that Daichi had noticed such a small thing about her, but still, she tried to shove the trinket back into his hand. “S-Sawamura, I couldn’t—”

"Consider it pay back," he insisted, fisting his hand so that she couldn’t return his present. "For middle school."

Sugawara immediately perked up, a little  _too_ interested for Yui’s liking. “Oh? What do you mean?”

"Once, right before our last tournament in middle school, Michimiya gave me a good luck charm she bought specially at the shrine," Daichi explained cheerfully, unaware that the girl wanted to combust right on the spot at the memory of giving it to him in front of all his teammates. "We ended up winning our opening match for the first time in that tournament."

"It was a coincidence!" she tried to insist, stamping her foot for emphasis.

Daichi chuckled. “Then I hope you  _coincidentally_  manage to win your practice match because of this charm, too. Now, shall we go inside?”

Sugawara stared at Yui, who refused to meet his eyes out of embarrassment that he had found out about such an intimate memory, before grinning widely and innocently. “At least  _something_ good came out of today, hm, Michimiya?” He was _so_ _obviously_ trying to hold back a snicker.

_"Sugawaraaaa,"_ she whined at his teasing, and after punching him lightly on the arm, she huffed and scurried inside after Daichi.

The gentle setter was humming happily as he followed her.

.

An hour later, Yui had a basket of sports equipment set at her feet, and the three volleyball players crowded around a display of various volleyball pumps. The one the teams used currently was very worn and on the cusp of breaking down completely from overuse.

“I think the black one would be best,” Sugawara suggested, picking it off the shelf and adding it to their basket. “It’s a good brand, and I think Tanaka and Nishinoya would like it. It shows Karasuno pride and all.”

Yui giggled. She’d always been impressed by how proud the members of the boys’ team were of their team, even though Karasuno had fallen so low in the rankings in past years. She wished her girls were half as invested in the team.

She pulled out the crumpled shopping list she had hastily stuck in her back pocket. “I think that should be everything,” she declared, roving her eyes over each crossed off item. “I’ll go pay for these, then.”

Just as she reached for the basket, Daichi’s hand snaked past hers and grabbed the handle instead. Despite her immediate protests, he insisted on carrying it for her.

"Let’s go to the checkout counter," he suggested, easily dodging her swipe for the basket by stepping back. "I’ll pay for half."

_"Wha—?"_ Her mouth fell open. “No way, Sawamura! These are things for the girls’ team! I couldn’t possibly let you—”

"Don’t be silly, Michimiya," he interrupted her, shaking his head seriously. "Our team uses all this equipment, too. It’s only fair. We couldn’t possibly let the girls pay for all of it with their budget."

Behind him, Sugawara, who had up until then only been quietly watching their exchange with a small smile on his face, nodded furiously in agreement.

Yui looked between the two boys helplessly, her hand fisting her hair in her usual bad habit. “B-But…”

"Checkout counter. Now," Daichi ordered authoritatively, very much with the air of a captain, and though she was a captain herself, Yui found that she couldn’t refuse when he used  _that_ tone.

"I’ll wait here," Sugawara piped up cheerfully, stepping back as if trying to become one with the shelf and completely disappear.

Daichi frowned, his forehead wrinkling. “What? Why?”

"You should figure it out for yourself, Daichi," he replied vaguely, the bright grin still on his face. When the captain shrugged and faced away, he quickly turned towards Yui and flashed her a very unsubtle wink.

Spluttering at his intervention, she just pretended she couldn’t see the conniving little smirk on his lips as she hurried to the counter.

.

By the time the two returned, Sugawara was nowhere to be found.

Frowning in concern, Daichi pulled out his phone when it buzzed and saw a message from the setter flash across the screen.

"Suga says he forgot to do something and had to rush home," he told Yui in worry. "Do you think he’s okay? He was acting strange just a while ago."

Yui had a pretty good idea of what had  _really_ pushed Sugawara to rush home, but she bit her tongue and simply nodded. “I’m sure it wasn’t anything serious,” she assured him. “Sugawara isn’t the type to forget things if they’re serious.”

"I guess you’re right…" he agreed, though he still looked a bit concerned as he returned his phone to his pocket. Clutching the bags in one hand — he had practically  _wrestled_ them from her at the counter, to the clerk’s amusement — he gestured towards the exit with the other. “Should we go, too, then? I’ll walk you home.”

"Sawamura, you really don’t have to—"

"Don’t argue with me, Michimiya," he said in a final sort of voice, and Yui’s protests stammered off.

"Well… all right. But I wanted to drop this stuff off at school first."

He shrugged. “That’s fine with me. Let’s get going.”

She exhaled slowly and unevenly, attempting to calm her heart by reminding herself that this  _hadn’t_ been a date  _at all_ , so there was  _no need_ to be so nervous about being alone with Sawamura. It just wasn’t working one bit.

.

Yui was proud of herself for managing to act fairly normal on the walk to school. She and Sawamura had been friends since middle school, so talking to him was something familiar to her, no matter how fast her heartbeat was strumming in her ears through the entire exchange.

One of the things she liked most about Daichi was how easy it was to talk to him; he was easygoing and listened attentively and made her feel like she  _mattered_ to him. And any time she made him laugh, it made her heart sing.

She was even a little disappointed when they reached the school. Her house was very close, which meant their outing together was almost over.

As captains of the volleyball teams, both of them had keys to the gymnasium, which was how they managed to reach the storage room even when it was a day off and the entire building was locked up.

"The gym is a little lonely when it’s so quiet, huh?" Daichi said offhandedly. "We have Nishinoya and Tanaka, who are always noisy, and Hinata and Kageyama, who are always fighting. It’s been a while since there’s been any peace in the gym."

His words were so affectionate and fatherly that Yui marveled at how much he loved his teammates. She loved her teammates too, but they never showed up for practice and a quiet gym was something she had long since gotten used to. Whenever she talked to Daichi, it made her yearn to be a captain for a team like his; it was just too bad she was no good at disciplining her girls or even just asking them to come to practice.

As Daichi began shelving away the new equipment they had just bought, Yui looked out at the giant, empty gymnasium and thought about his words, as well as the opportunity Sugawara had so obviously tried to present her with.

Her date with Daichi hadn’t turned out exactly as she’d expected — it hadn’t turned out at  _all,_ in fact — but he was here and she was here. All she needed was to find her courage again. _  
_

"Say, Sawamura…" she began hesitantly, tugging at her fringe. The hair she had so carefully combed and tamed was once again curling haphazardly, but she didn’t really care anymore.

"Hm?" he mumbled thoughtlessly, replacing their old pump with the new one.

"What do you say… to getting some one-on-one practice in right now?" she suggested, slanting her lips and scuffing at the ground with the sneakers she had cleaned last night.

He looked back at her in surprise. “Right  _now?”_

"Why not?" She shrugged, flashing him an encouraging grin. "No one’s here. We could just toss a few balls back and forth or something."

Though he visibly hesitated, she could also see plain as day on his face that he was sorely tempted and didn’t want to refuse at all. It gave her the courage she needed to grip his arm and eagerly tug him towards the gym — anything to prolong their time alone together.

"Come on! Just for a little while!" she egged him on, grabbing a nearby volleyball.

He saw the excitement lighting up her face and it made him chuckle. “All right, all right,” he caved easily, shrugging out of his jacket. “I can’t resist. You know me too well, Michimiya.”

She almost beamed with pride at his words.

As they began volleying the ball back and forth, Yui thought about how she’d wanted today to go — she’d wanted him to understand that asking him out had been her way of confessing, and she’d wanted to spend the day alone with him, and she’d wanted to feel jitters in her stomach every time their hands accidentally brushed, and she’d wanted him to see her like she saw  _him,_  like the way she’d seen him since middle school.

But then she thought about the way they were now — lazily tossing a ball back and forth, playing a sport they both loved, with easy conversation and laughter between them that she hoped he didn’t have with just any girl. They were comfortable and familiar with each other, and it warmed her all the way down to her toes.

Yui decided that, even though things hadn’t gone the way she’d planned, today couldn’t have turned out any better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yui/sugawara friendship is the best thing. and so is shipper!suga.
> 
> also, bonus points to anyone who noticed that the charm daichi buys yui is the same charm seen hanging on her gym bag in episode 14, right before the inter-high :)


	2. Proposal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> something silly i blame [steph](http://tanaka--saeko.tumblr.com/) for.

It had seemed like such a fine idea. Even Sugawara, around his chuckles, had agreed it was something Michimiya would definitely be charmed by — a guaranteed  _yes._

He catches the girls’ volleyball team captain just before she leaves for home that afternoon, backpack slung over her shoulder and a questioning tilt to her head, and scratches the back of his neck in a nervous habit.

"What do you say to some practice? Just the two of us?"

She’s visibly and understandably taken aback. “Don’t you have team practice?”

"Uhh… not today! We’re resting up for a game tomorrow, but extra practice can’t hurt, right?" He wonders if he sounds as fidgety to her as he does to his own ears.

Perhaps not, because she’s all bright eyes and wide smiles as she bobs her head. “Sure, Sawamura! Let me go get my gym bag!”

He watches her bounce away and tries to swallow the thick lump suddenly lodged in his throat.

.

She spikes, he receives. They continue the volley until they decide to switch positions, and he stealthily switches the ball behind her back. She’s none the wiser, but Daichi’s feet feel like he’s wearing ankle weights, much like they had on the walk to the gym together.

She still doesn’t notice when they pick up practice again; the ball whizzes back and forth much too fast, and Daichi starts to get anxious. How long before she would realize and he would be faced with her reaction?

But of all the possible scenarios he had imagined in his head, the reality is much more horrific than anything his mind could have conjured up.

The gym doors shoot open. “WHAT?  _PRACTICE?_ WHY DIDN’T ANYBODY  _TELL_ ME!”

Hinata’s joyous whoop interrupts their silence and the smooth flow of their strikes, and Yui is distracted just for one deadly second — which costs her a slip-up in the form of a projectile volleyball straight in the face.

_Thunk._ "Umph!"

She goes flying back from the strength of his spike, face stinging red, and lands on her back with the volleyball cradled in her arms.

Daichi is  _horrified._ "Michimiya!"

She’s dazed and confused and very much out of it as he helps her sit up; her eyes droop and her lips part and she can’t seem to comprehend where she is. All she manages to piece together is Daichi’s firm hand on her back and the feel of the volleyball clutched in her arms.

His heart almost stops when he realizes what’s about to happen, but he’s not quick enough to snatch it out of her grasp before she holds it up, staring dazedly at what had struck her so hard.

And she finally sees it, scribbled on the surface: the word “Prom?”

.

At the dance, her arm looped through his, she gets an absolute  _kick_ out of telling anyone who’ll listen, “He asked me out with a  _bang!”_

Daichi wishes he could evaporate on the spot.


	3. Pallete

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A range of colors used to create a masterpiece.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is actually my favorite daiyui fic that i've written.

When she thinks back to the first time they met, Yui vividly remembers red.

It had, of course, been an accident. She’s been practicing and practicing and practicing her receive for  _forever,_ it seems, and pretty soon her friends are tired of tossing to her and her new teammates are nowhere near as dedicated to the sport as she has recently become. So she finds herself alone in the gym after hours, tossing to a wall so that it mimics a spike back to her and she can practice receiving alone, but Yui’s finding out pretty quickly that all that practice has yet to accumulate into perfect.

She can barely get the ball at the right angle, and every time it slips off her wrists and goes rolling across the gym floor; in an official match, that would have cost their team a whole point. And any time she  _does_ actually manage a straightforward receive, she haphazardly sends it nowhere, even though she’s trying so hard to pinpoint so she can send it to their setter in a match.

She’s upset and dejected and frustrated all at once, and she needs to take it out on the wall that spikes just  _too damn well,_ so she kicks the volleyball at it with the strength of her calves that she’s toned from all that jumping practice.  _"Ugh!"_

But while the wall can spike even better than she can, it’s just as awful at receiving. The ball bangs against its surface and goes shooting off to some random side of the gym, and just as Yui’s luck would have it, it whizzes to the gym door at the exact moment a boy sticks his head in.

The undeniable  _whack_ she hears has her cringing even more than the  _thump_ as he’s sent tumbling to the ground, and Yui is absolutely  _hysterical._

"Oh, my  _god_ , I am  _so sorry!”_ Her voice is understandably much more shrill than usual, and she can hear the unattractive squeaks leaving her mouth as she rushes to his side, her hands digging into her hair and clawing at her scalp in panic. “I  _totally_ didn’t see you there! I didn’t  _mean_ to hit you, to hit  _anybody._ You just came out of nowhere and — o-of course, I’m not blaming  _you,_ it’s completely my fault I shouldn’t have been kicking a volleyball and I should have closed the door and this wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t so awful at receiving and I’m sorry okay I’m so so sorry—”

Groaning slightly, he slowly sits up while Yui flusters at his side like an overexcited chick, and when he finally pulls his hand away from his face, they both clearly see the red sticking to his fingers.

He blinks at it dazedly. Yui, meanwhile, practically  _explodes._

 _"NURSE’S OFFICE!"_ she screeches, hauling him off the ground and dragging him into the building, the volleyball forgotten by the door.

It turns out the injury is nothing serious. The nurse dabs away the blood, presses a bit of ice to his nose, and he’s good as new — not even a scratch on him. Yui, who’s been lingering over his back the entire time in worry, feels a bit sheepish.

She learns his name is Sawamura, and he’s perfectly good-natured about the entire incident.

"Don’t worry about it," he chuckles, as she sits beside him on the clinic bed and stares at the ground in shame. "I know by now that walking into the gym is a potential hazard."

"Still…" she insists, peeking at him through her bangs. He has a tissue pressed to his nose, and it’s slowly being dyed red by stray flecks of blood.

"I’m more impressed than anything," he says, smiling. "Your spike is really powerful."

She frowns, thinking about how she had been beaten by a wall. “That wasn’t my spike…” she mumbles, feeling her bottom lip jut out. “I suck at spiking. And receiving. And basically volleyball in general.”

Sawamura is silent at her words, and she wonders whether he has nothing to say to comfort her. She doesn’t believe she deserves comfort when she’s giving up so quickly anyway. But then he hums slightly in thought, and she peeks at him again.

"But you still love volleyball, don’t you?" He smiles at her softly, and even with the tissue pressed to his face, the curve of his lips doesn’t lose any warmth.

Feeling a little embarrassed for some reason, Yui rubs the back of her head. “Yeah…”

"Then don’t say those things." The smile is instantly replaced by a stern expression. "You’ll never improve if all you do is come down on yourself, and, well, I think there’d be nothing worse than falling  _out_ of love with volleyball because of it.”

She stares at him a bit dumbly, noticing the sharpness of his eyes and the familiar gleam in his gaze that she often notices in her own eyes after volleyball practice, and her lips part. “Sawamura, are you…”

He grins. “Yeah. I play on the boys’ team. So, I know.”

Almost of its own accord, her gaze drops just lightly, to the spot on his arm where the shirt’s slipped down as he presses the tissue to his nose, and there she spies the slightly black and blue disfiguration of his skin. A bruise.

He  _does_ know, she realizes. He knows what it’s like to wake up before the sun, eager to get to practice and try out the new play that’s been on his mind all night. He knows how it feels to have a volleyball connect with his arms, resounding off his receive and shooting to the other side of the net. He knows what it’s like to practice and practice and practice, until his knees ache and his bruises have bruises. And he even knows how it feels to just  _never_ get that one move right and feel so frustrated that he wonders why he puts in so much effort for something that only causes him heartache.

But, more than anything, he knows how it feels to love volleyball.

Sawamura goes back to smiling encouragingly. “Don’t give up, Michimiya. It’ll get better.”

She inhales softly, until her breath hitches, and then relaxes; she breathes out and her shoulders deflate and her ankles hook together. They share smiles.

"Yeah. I won’t. I promise."

.

Their middle school graduation reminds her of blue. Blue with tufts of white marring the smoothness of the color — the vastness of the sky.

She finds him and Ikejiri accidentally at the back of the gym while on her way for last minute farewells with her volleyball team juniors. They’re spread out over the grass, arms and legs slightly scattered as far as their closeness can allow, just staring quietly as the clouds drift.

"Just doing some reminiscing," Ikejiri explains when she calls out to them, looking a little sheepish that they had been caught doing something intimate.

Yui remembers that the two will be moving on to different high schools, so this is possibly their last time as such close, carefree teammates. She doesn’t want to intrude on something so special, except Sawamura, who’s closest to her, invitingly pats the grass next to him.

"Want to join us?" he asks, flashing her a warm grin.

Yui thinks about her juniors waiting for her in the gym and about not wanting to interrupt their last moments together, but Sawamura’s gaze is so warm that she finds herself uncurling on the spot beside him. The sky is so vast and blue that she almost loses herself in it.

"Will you continue volleyball in high school, Michimiya?" Ikejiri asks curiously.

A promise from three years ago, to never give up, comes to mind, and Yui grins widely. “Of course!”

The boys chuckle at the excited trill of her voice, before the three lapse into comfortable silence. Somewhere, a bird chirps, a student laughs loudly at something their friend has said, and a sneaker squeaks on a floorboard as someone moves across the gym. They’re familiar sounds, such established parts of their middle school lives, and though Yui knows she’ll hear them in high school too, she wonders if they’ll _sound_  the same.

"These last three years were fun," she muses aloud, watching a crow take flight.

"Yeah…" the boys reply, smiles in their voices. She wonders if they’re also thinking of joint practices and crying over losses and that one training camp where the three had been partners for the test of courage and Ikejiri had almost wet himself when a cat mewled somewhere nearby.

One particularly special, private memory comes to mind, of Sawamura taking her hand during the darkest part of the test so she wouldn’t lose her way. His grip had been firm, just like she’d often imagined it would be, and though the moment had been brief and probably meant nothing to him, even now Yui feels her face warming at the memory.

Unconsciously, her hand twitches, and it moves over on the grass just enough to accidentally brush the back of Sawamura’s calloused knuckles. She means to hastily apologize, except he doesn’t seem to mind her touch since he says nothing as he continues staring at the sky.

Smiling to herself, Yui doesn’t move her hand away.

.

Their high school entrance ceremony is colored black.

There are other colors there, too — the pink of the sakura petals, the brown of the vice-principal’s obvious wig as he makes a speech — but as she looks out at the sea of students old and new, all dressed in their Karasuno uniforms, all Yui sees is black. Even so, though he’s immersed in the monotony, she manages to pinpoint Sawamura almost instantly.

She pats him on the shoulder. “Yo.”

"Oh, Michimiya!" he greets her, turning away from the class list on the bulletin board.

Yui glances at it briefly. They’re not in the same class. Sawamura’s chosen to take college prep classes, and while her grades are decent enough and she’s thinking of college herself, she doesn’t want the stress of teachers breathing down her neck to prepare for the future. But Sawamura’s always been good under pressure, always been sturdy and confident no matter how much is on his plate, so he can probably manage it.

"Seems like we might not be seeing a lot of each other anymore," she points out, her lips pursing in thought. Their classes are rather far apart now.

"We always have volleyball," he points out.

She hesitates for a moment, but then relaxes. “Yeah, we do. Practice with me some time? Going up against your receives will do me some good.”

He bobs his head once, curtly. “Sure.”

She takes a step forward, holding out one pinky.  _"Promise?"_ Her tone is playful, and she feels tingly all over when it makes him laugh.

He decides to humor her. “Promise.”

His pinky loops around hers, so much bigger that her own gets lost under his hand, and Yui stares past it and at the black of his uniform instead, so that her heart might jump back into her chest.

.

The stars are white when Sawamura finds her staring at them outside the first gymnasium.

"You’re still here?" he asks in surprise, accidentally startling her.

She sheepishly scratches her head, moving over on the steps to the gym so he can sit beside her. “Yeah… One last look, you know? Now that it’s over…”

They’d lost the Inter-High, and though the juniors insist they still want the third-years around, at least to help them practice from time to time, Yui knows it’ll never be the same. She can never adorn the same uniform as them again, and in her heart she knows she’s no longer their teammate or their captain.

Sawamura is silent, mulling over her words carefully like he so often does. As they sit together, Yui overhears the rest of the boys’ team heading home from their meeting somewhere close by. Sugawara is lecturing them to get plenty of rest for their match against Seijou, and she wants to tell Sawamura that he should forget about her, head home and do the same, except she’s surprised by a sudden touch on her shoulder.

He coils an arm around her. It’s loose and cautious, as if he’s not sure whether touch is welcomed right now, but still his hand is just firm enough to be comforting.

"You did your best." He doesn’t ask, he states _._ He  _knows_ she tried her damn hardest, because no one knows better than Sawamura how much volleyball means to her, or how much it destroys a captain to see their team lose.

Yui feels her lower lip tremble, but she doesn’t want to cry right now. She did that enough back at the stadium, and she’s never been comfortable crying real, meaningful tears in front of other people.

She just grasps the hand on her shoulder, needing something to anchor her down.

They watch the stars together until he offers to walk her home.

.

Her confession is colored with orange.

It’s the light from the sunset bathing everything in the dull, mellow tinge, and as she’s walking to the dorms with Sawamura, it hits her then just  _how_ deeply she’s fallen and how she  _has_ to tell him.

They end up going to the same college. With his grades he could have gone somewhere much more prestigious, but he chooses a school with a good volleyball program so he can keep playing after high school, and Yui, who’d thought she might lose him forever after graduation, suddenly finds him by her side again.

They meet coincidentally after turning in their applications for their respective teams, and since Sugawara had rushed on ahead to meet with a teacher, he’s alone and so is she, and they just naturally fall into step together. It kind of thrills her to know being beside each other is so second nature to both of them.

The conversation jumps from classes to schedules to teachers to roommates, until eventually it lands on volleyball.

"This’ll be like revenge for you," Sawamura muses cheerfully, flashing her an encouraging grin that’s been motivating her since middle school. "For high school. You’ll win all your matches, Michimiya. I just know it."

Having someone believe in her is a special thing. Even her Karasuno team hadn’t believed in themselves as much as Sawamura believes in others, in  _her._ And so she confesses without a second thought.

It’s not like it slips out. Yui makes the decision, and she knows it’s been a long time coming, but she still claps a hand over her mouth as if shocked by her own words. “Oh!”

Their steps, which had been in perfect sync up until that point, fall out of harmony.

Sawamura’s eyes widen, and he slants his head to the side. “…Huh?”

"S-Since middle school!" she squeaks around her fingers, feeling her cheeks and her ears and her neck go warm. She’s never done this confession thing before — she’s only ever liked  _him,_ after all — so she knows she’s on the cusp of babbling as she continues, “I-It was only a crush at first! I didn’t even realize I liked you in middle school when I liked you in middle school, if that even makes sense. But I realized in high school. And I wasn’t going to  _say_ anything, e-except —”

She breathes in deeply, because she knows she’s about to spew gushy things, but she needs to get the words out. He needs to  _know_.

"You inspire me, Sawamura. And you believe in me. And you make me believe in myself. And you’re really thoughtful. And a great captain. And sometimes I’m jealous of how good you are at volleyball and how much your team looks up to you and listens to you, but mostly it just motivates me. And you’re one of the best people in my life. A-And so…" _  
_

She peeks at him through her bangs to find that he’s rooted to the spot, seemingly trying to process the confession she’s surprised him with, and she doesn’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing.

"P-Please…" She takes a step back. "Please think about it!"

And then she’s running, and he doesn’t call after her because he’s just so stunned, though her heart is strumming so loudly in her ears that she wouldn’t have heard him even if he had.

The sun has set even further by the time she reaches her dorm. The orange sky is now red, reminding her of their very first meeting, and Yui tries to figure out when her feelings for Sawamura had become so strong.

.

Purple becomes her new favorite color.

The grape juice in the hands of the boy who’s been chatting her up all night is purple. It’s also the color reflected in Sawamura’s eyes as he keeps shooting them glances from across the room.

The two have been awkward since her confession. She’d given him all the time in the world to think about it — Sugawara tells her it was his first ever confession — but while he hasn’t told her  _no,_ he hasn’t exactly said  _yes_ either.

She wants to take a break from being anxious all the time, so she agrees to go to her first party when her roommate practically begs her to come, only to find him there. Their eyes lock from across the room, and she squeaks and  _dives_ behind her roommate’s back.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Yui mourns that before her confession, she would have made a beeline straight for him, and they would have been comfortable and probably cracked jokes all night long. Though she doesn’t regret confessing, it  _is_ a little sad that they avoid catching each other’s gazes and stay on opposite ends of the room.

But even Sawamura can’t turn a blind eye when a boy plops down beside Yui on the couch and starts flirting. Even if she’s too awkward to properly flirt back — how  _does_ one flirt, anyway? even with all the times she talked with Sawamura while secretly pining after him, she’s pretty sure she never  _flirted_ — she’s a little flattered and doesn’t deflect his attention. And it secretly delights her to know that Sawamura can’t seem to look away.

Despite how nice the boy is, though, Yui politely turns down his offer to leave together, tracks down her roommate to tell her she’s had enough, and departs from the party alone.

Out in the hall, she runs into Sawamura, who’s coming back from the bathroom.

He scratches the back of his head awkwardly. “You didn’t leave with him?” he asks quietly, not meeting her eyes as he fidgets.

She shakes her head, feeling just as shy but a little more confident knowing all hope is not lost. “No. I like  _you,_ after all.”

For the first time in her life, she sees Sawamura blush, and it takes her breath away.

"Right." He clears his throat a few times, trying to hide his red cheeks by running a hand down his face. "Well, then, I’m gonna…" He stammers off, carefully side-stepping around her to head back to the party.

Just before Yui starts back down the hall, she’s stopped by his voice calling after her.

"Michimiya?" She looks back questioningly, and he can’t seem to meet her eyes again. "You, um, look nice tonight."

Yui looks down at herself, at the first truly girly clothes she’s ever worn, and only because her roommate had forced her into them. When she looks back, Sawamura’s already disappeared inside the party again.

She fingers her purple skirt, and she grins.

.

At one in the morning, she answers the pounding on her door to find him on the other side, completely pink in the face. Sugawara has him in his clutch, desperately trying to pull him away.

"Daichi, no!" the gentle setter exclaims, until he realizes Yui’s already been disturbed. He looks a little embarrassed on behalf of his friend. "Sorry about this, Michimiya. I think someone spiked the punch after you left, and Daichi drank too much. He hasn’t stopped saying your name and dragged us here."

A thrill runs down Yui’s spine, but it’s overshadowed by her concern for her long-time crush.

"Why don’t you come inside for a bit?" She opens the door wider.

Sugawara bites his lip, holding on to Sawamura as he immediately tries to take her up on her offer. “Are you sure?”

She bobs her head. “He’s in no condition to walk back to his dorm this way! I’ll get him some water and he can rest on the couch for a bit.”

As soon as Sawamura’s settled, Yui asks Sugawara to fetch her roommate from the party; it’s late at night and she doesn’t want the girl walking home alone across a college campus. The setter leaves in an instant, promising to return as soon as he can to take Sawamura back, and then they’re alone.

For the most part, he’s quiet. His face steadily gets less and less pink, too, and his eyes less glassier. Yui sits cross-legged on the floor in front of him, casually flipping channels on the TV, when he speaks up.

"You look nice tonight," he says quietly.

She startles at first, and then looks down at herself. Her cute party wear is lying haphazardly on her bed; she’d taken it off immediately upon returning, and now she’s wearing a pair of old, faded sweatpants and a T-shirt. She looks far from nice. He’s probably just remembering their last conversation, she decides.

"…You always look nice," he adds, the sound muffled by the arm over his face.

Yui chuckles as she glances back at him. “You’re drunk, Sawamura.”

But he looks at her from under his arm, and his eyes are as sharp and focused as they always are. His face is no longer pink. Yui’s smile slowly fades away.

"Not as drunk as you think I am," he mumbles, grunting as he pulls himself up to sit on the couch.

"Sawamura…?" she says softly, no longer breathing.

He takes a moment to compose himself, running his hands down his face and rubbing at his eyes. She hears him sigh.

"I’m glad you didn’t leave with him, Michimiya," he mutters, staring at the ground. His tongue darts out to lick his lips once, and his forehead creases. "But I don’t know  _why.”_

She swallows a few times, but that doesn’t help the lump in her throat.

"No," he continues, shaking his head and frowning. "I  _do_ know why. Finally.”

He meets her eyes for the first time, still sharp and focused, except now they’re gleaming as they take her in, and Yui feels her stomach clench in a way that’s not uncomfortable, but it doesn’t make it any easier for her to talk or breathe.

Sugawara returns with her tipsy, pink-faced roommate just then, but Yui doesn’t need any more confirmation than that look.

.

He’s always been tan, but suddenly Yui just  _can’t_ stop noticing it. Her white hand contrasts as it runs over his brown skin, and she swallows thickly.

She’s seen him shirtless a bunch of times before, but somehow it’s different in this context — in a bedroom, surrounded by white bed sheets, her own shirt discarded on the floor.

His hands ghost over her hips and his lips peck at the hollow between her neck and her chest, and Yui’s sure she’s blushing like mad so she buries her face in his shoulder to hide it.

Sawamura chuckles, and the sound vibrates through his chest and against hers. “Still feeling shy?”

"You’re not wearing any  _clothes!”_ is all she manages to gasp, pressing her face further into his shoulder. Her nose nuzzles his neck and she smells the spice on his tan skin.

"Neither are you," he points out, sounding amused.

"Don’t  _remind_ me!” she wails. Her whole body is probably flushing by this point.

"Should I turn off the light?" he asks, gesturing towards the single light from the lamp on the bedside table.

Yui huffs, disturbing the hairs on the nape of his neck, and shakes her head. “No. It’s embarrassing, but I-I” — she swallows — “I want to see you.”

Sawamura groans at her words, as if she’s too much for him to handle, and finally presses her back into the mattress. He stretches out over her, skin to skin.

.

Yui frowns, staring at the kitchen wall in Sawamura’s new apartment.

"Your taste is so drab," she complains, taking a sip from the coffee he’d made her. He glances up from his own cup, in the chair beside hers, and raises an eyebrow. "I mean," she continues, " _brown and gray?_ What kind of color scheme is that?”

He looks amused. “So, what do you suggest?”

"More color," she states immediately, with a curt nod of her head. "I’m imagining a light purple bedroom, a pale orange bathroom, a yellow living room."

"I could live with that," he agrees slowly, shrugging. "But I’m no good at decorating. Would you like to do it for me?"

She beams, bobbing her head. She’d been hoping he’d ask. “Yeah!”

"And then," he carries on, one hand sliding across the table to lightly brush his fingertips with hers, "after all that’s done, would you like to live here with me?"

She almost spits out her coffee.

 _"Wha—"_ Her mouth falls open.  _"L-Live…?"_

He’s trying not to laugh, but his smile is affectionate as he gazes at her. “Yeah.”

Her cheeks feel hot. All she can manage is a very weak nod of her head, her hands trembling, and Sawamura finally laughs.

He leans in and presses a kiss to her lips, and his dull gray kitchen is suddenly every color of the rainbow.


	4. Wins The Race

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He’s slow, but he’s steady.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another fic that came about because of me and [steph](http://tanaka--saeko.tumblr.com/) bouncing headcanons off one another. we were talking about how daiyui might kiss, and then we were laughing at how _flustered_ yui would get the first time daichi ever kissed her really intensely, and then this happened.

Daichi’s kisses always left her dazed.

It wasn’t that they were particularly passionate; he didn’t much like kissing in public, and he always only pressed his lips against hers for a second or less. But still, when she closed her eyes and pressed back, she saw stars.

Her teammates liked to catcall and tease her for being so lovey-dovey, head-over-heels in love that she was talking like a shoujo manga heroine after a millisecond-long peck. Most of them were so far along in their own relationships that they had dubbed Daichi and Yui the “vanilla pairing,” much to her embarrassment.

To Yui, it was because she’d been harboring a secret crush since middle school, so now that her dream had finally come to fruitation, even the smallest gesture left her feeling giddy and light. She noticed little details, like the way he cupped her cheek, or the way he lightly grasped one of her wrists, or how he never closed his eyes right away, his gaze lingering on her eyelashes for a few moments. She loved that about his kisses.

But Yui truly understood why her teammates called her naive the first time one of Daichi’s kisses left her not with butterflies in her stomach, but with something  _hot_ coiling in her gut.

It was after a nice date. Daichi walked her back to her dorm, not holding her hand but walking close enough that their fingers brushed every once in a while. Her roommate was out at a late-night study session and probably would be until the early morning, so she didn’t feel weird about inviting him in.

They sat on her bed and just talked to each other, and it was almost inevitable that eventually they ended up kissing.

By that point, their kisses had fallen into a routine. They were light and brief, and Daichi held her hands and massaged circles into her knuckles with his thumbs. He never just kissed her lips, but also lavished attention onto her cheeks and her eyelids, and once, the hollow of her neck.

Tonight, however, he held her by the waist, so that they were pressed close enough that she had to lay a hand on his chest and their knees knocked. Yui liked that. More than one person had told her she had sturdy thighs, a fact she was rather insecure about, but being held by Daichi made her feel dainty for the first time in possibly forever. Minutes ticked by as they just pecked each other’s lips, and they were comfortable.

He really gave no warning when the kiss took a completely different turn.

One moment he was pulling away, and the next, he had angled his head to the side and perfectly slanted his lips over hers. His hands slid from her waist down to her hips, and he gripped her so hard and so close that she almost went tumbling onto his lap, hands caged between their chests.

Her lips parted in shock, and he took advantage, perfectly melting his mouth over hers like butter on a hot day. His tongue swept out and outlined the curve of her bottom lip.

_"Mm?"_ Her surprised squeak was overshadowed by his low grunt.

Yui couldn’t explain her reaction. Her toes curled and her shoulders tensed. It was her first time feeling this way, and it left her head dizzy and more than just a little dazed. Something sparked in her chest, and it coiled its way into her stomach, like a hot-wire had been pressed there, or like someone was physically trying to squeeze her gut until her lungs constricted.

It was  _intense._

Daichi pulled back with a gasp, a low, pleased rumble vibrating his chest, like he hadn’t just tried to suck her tongue into his own mouth.

"Sawamura…" Yui murmured, ducking her head so that her bangs covered her face. She let the silence drag for a moment, and when she snapped back up, her entire face was fire-engine  _red._

_"You’re—"_ Hands clapped over her face, she turned away and dug her face into her pillow.  _"You’re too much for me sometimes!"_

"E-Eh!" His voice was husky in contrast to her shrill, muffled squeak, but she could hear the panic and the worry in his tone as she floundered into her bed. "S-S-Sorry, Michimiya! I swear, I-I didn’t mean…"

She looked back when she felt she had composed herself to find his arms still flailing and red on his own cheeks. It was so unlike him, so unlike the intensity between their kiss just now, and it left Yui a puddle on the floor.

Thinking about the fire that had started in her belly had her swallowing, and she clenched her hands into fists in determination.

"Okay!" she declared, eyes gleaming seriously. "I’m ready! Let’s try again!" Screwing her eyes shut, she leaned into his face and puckered her lips expectantly, waiting for the next kiss.

It didn’t come. Confused by the complete silence, she tentatively peeked at her boyfriend through her lashes to see that he had curved away, hand clapped over his mouth. He was  _so_ obviously trying not to laugh.

Heat crept up her neck, and she grabbed her pillow without a second thought to repeatedly whack him with it. “Don’t  _laugh!”_

"Sorry, sorry!" he appeased her around his snickers, holding up a hand to shield himself. "You were just too cute!"

She harrumphed and turned away, and though she immediately melted when he soothingly rubbed her back, that was as far as they went that night.

.

"Congratulations," Kanako drawled flatly, swirling her straw in her drink. "You and your boyfriend of six months finally made out."

Yui ducked her head, cheeks flaming red, and clutched her knees tightly.

"So, what?" her friend continued, raising an eyebrow. "Now you’re too embarrassed to tell him you want to suck his tongue again?"

"Don’t say it like  _that!”_ Yui spluttered, almost combusting where she sat. “But, well… yeah.”

After the incident, they had returned to their soft, light kisses. Her heart jumped to her throat whenever she  _thought_ he was about to make a move, but he hadn’t tried to turn things intense again, much to her disappointment. Perhaps her immediate reaction had scared him away.

"I don’t see why you can’t just do it?" Kanako asked. "Just jump him and take what you want."

"But… I like it when  _he_ makes a move.” Yui covered her burning face after the admittance, though her friend was very clearly not impressed.

"Honestly, Yui, this is why you two move at a snail’s pace," she sighed. "Sawamura would probably be happy just holding hands for the rest of your lives, and you’re too chicken to tell him you want more."

"I’m just not  _used_ to this, you know?” Yui groaned, the words muffled against her palm. “He’s my first crush  _and_ my first boyfriend.”

"Well, my advice to you is to make things clear," Kanako suggested, sipping her drink through her straw. "He’s not a mind reader. Just come right out and say it."

She laid her head on the table and groaned again, but still nodded her head in compliance.

.

After their next date, Yui worked up her courage and asked him inside again.

"Won’t your roommate mind?" he asked in worry. She was home today, and they could already hear her watching TV through the door.

"I checked with her beforehand," Yui assured him, taking his hand and pulling him inside. He seemed perfectly relaxed as she led him to her room and tightly shut the door behind them, even though  _her_ heart was about to burst out of her chest.

She tried to sit as close as possible to him on the bed, though if he noticed that she kept inching closer, he said nothing about it. Eventually, the night took its normal course and his lips were on hers.

He had her hands in his and carefully pecked at her lips, and Yui remembered her friend’s advice with a heavy heart.

Daichi raised an inquisitive eyebrow when she pulled away, and she couldn’t meet his eyes as she stammered out, “Um, Sawamura? C-Could you… k-kiss me like you did the other night?”

"The other night?" he repeated, confused and needing clarification.

"You know," she pressed on, chewing on her bottom lip in embarrassment. "Like you did after the movie. I, um, I liked it."

The unfiltered shock on his face almost made her reflexively punch him in the gut and run away, except he wordlessly moved his grasp from her hands to her waist and pulled her close.

It was just like she remembered it to be; they melted into each other, and something hot ignited in her stomach, and her brain was so foggy she didn’t realize they were falling until her back hit the mattress.

Daichi had never been on top of her before, holding her so tightly by the waist that their bodies melded together. Her knee curled, as did her toes, and she teased the hairs on the nape of his neck. His lips and his tongue were all over hers, and she was panting because she didn’t know when to breathe and so she did it quickly whenever he gave her a second of opportunity.

The heat in her stomach had spread to the rest of her body, and it felt  _wonderful._

"Is this what you had in mind?" Daichi breathed, smirking against her mouth.

"Better," she mumbled back, and he didn’t let her talk again until her mouth was properly bruised.

.

"So, what’s the problem  _now?”_ Kanako asked, tapping her fingers against the table. “You and your vanilla boyfriend are finally frenching. What’s there to complain about?” Beside her, two other girls from the team snickered at her words.

Yui sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. “ _That’s_ great. But…”

That was as far as it went with Daichi. He hadn’t tried to take it any further. Even as they kissed, his hands stayed firm at her waist and didn’t wander. Yui thought back to the movie they had watched together weeks ago, when the kissing couple on-screen had groped each other every which way, and sometimes she caught herself imagining what it might be like for her to have that with Daichi.

"You want to take it even further?" Rena guessed, smirking suggestively.

Kanako raised an eyebrow, and around her mouthful of food, she spit out, “You want to fuck him?”

_"Kanako-chan!"_ Yui cried, absolutely aghast. She buried her face in her hands again, wondering how she could ever face any of the girls from now on.

Kanako rolled her eyes at the theatrics. “Well,  _do_ you?”

_"Ugh…"_ Yui peeked out between her fingers, then moaned, “Yes, I do. I really do.”

"Then tell him," the three girls chorused.

She swallowed. “N-No way! Do you even know how hard it was just to tell him I wanted him to kiss me all James Bond-like again? There’s no way I can tell him…”

"Why not? He’s your boyfriend."

"Well,  _yeah,_ but…”

"If you can’t tell him, then show him," Rena suggested with a wink. "Next time you’re making out, just unbutton his pants."

_"Rena!"_ Yui squealed, almost slamming her forehead on the table in her shock. “I  _can’t!”_

"Geez, Yui. Maybe it’s  _you_ who’s the vanilla one in the relationship. I always thought Sawamura moved too slow, but at least he made a move the first time. If  _you_ want something, then  _go for it._ " The other two girls vigorously nodded their heads in agreement.

Yui looked between the three of them a little helplessly.

.

If ever there was a perfect chance, it was now.

Sawamura was already on top of her, sucking on her bottom lip, so they were already halfway there in that regard. And her roommate was once again out and would be all weekend.

"Listen, Sawamura," she began, and when she caught his glassy gaze with her own, she had to turn her head away.

"Hm?"

"Could you… I mean, could  _we?_ You know. Do… Take things —  _more?”_

He seemed utterly perplexed, so finally she pushed herself up, pressed her lips to his ear, and murmured her request.

It wasn’t often that she got to see her boyfriend turn red, but this was one of those rare moments, and now Yui wanted it more than ever.

"O…kay," he agreed, gruffly clearing his throat. "I mean, _yes,_  I want you, too.”

She smiled up at him, a little out of shyness, but mostly out of flattery. Her boyfriend wasn’t the type to gush — he preferred actions over words — so she cherished the times he was so outright.

Gripping her just a little bit harder, he stole her breath once more. He held her like she was precious, with firm and steady hands that moved across her skin like they’d explored her many times before.

Yui thought of how far they had come, and how long it had taken them to get here, and knew it had been worth the wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more bonus points! this time, to anyone who knows that i borrowed the names for all of yui's teammates from _crimson hero,_ another volleyball manga that's about a female team :)


	5. Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for a pairing meme on tumblr. the prompt was, which one "tries to surprise their partner more often" :)

He hears the pitter patter of running feet heading for him and braces himself for the impact — because this is her preferred method of greeting and he  _knows_ by now to be on guard at the first tap of her sneakers against the tiles.

No sooner has he steadied his legs firmly on the floor than a hundred-and-twelve pound weight collides with his back, arms curling around his neck and legs latching onto his waist.

_"Surprise!"_ Yui laughs into his ear, resting her chin on his shoulder. “It’s  _me!”_

He chuckles himself, hooking his fingers under her thighs so she won’t fall. “Michimiya,” he greets her, meeting her eyes over his shoulder.

She frowns, more properly coiling her arms around his neck so that she shifts forward and their cheeks press together.  _"Daichi,"_ she whines, knocking the side of his head. “You could at least  _act_ surprised.”

"You’re… not very frightening," he teases her. She’s all big, brown eyes and rosy cheeks and pixie hair. And he’s got a back so steady it’s like it’s  _made_ for catching her.

_"Grrr…"_ she playfully growls at him, her nose scrunching, but it only makes her cuter rather than more frightening, and he laughs at the way the sound vibrates against his ear.

He also obligingly starts down the empty hallway, towards the gymnasium, when she points a finger at the end of the hall and swings off him more freely.

"One day," she swears solemnly, flicking his ear. "One day I will take you down and then you’ll be forced to admit that I am a force to be reckoned with."

"I  _already_ think you’re a force to be reckoned with,” he murmurs, affection in his voice.

Surprised, flattered, and a little embarrassed, she presses a kiss right behind his ear as a silent sign of gratitude.

_"But_ you’ll never take me down,” he carries on, smirking.

_"Ugh!_ Gimme my kiss back!” she demands, pounding her fists against his back, and he laughs all the way to the gymnasium.

.

Being alone in the gymnasium is surprisingly a new thing for Daichi these days. Normally Suga is by his side or Hinata and Kageyama battle to see who goes in first. But today he changes and leaves the club room ahead of the rest of the team, and he only takes one step onto the court when he hears a frantic, hissed,  _"Oh, shoot!"_ from the supply closet before it’s followed by a loud  _crash!_

Alarmed, but mostly concerned, he slides open the closet door, and Yui fumbles out and lands on the ground before him. Half a dozen mops, all tangled at her feet, follow after her.

_"Owwww…."_ Rubbing at her head, her mouth shriveled from the pain, she slowly gets to her feet. Her eyes meet Daichi’s.

"Uhh…" Not sure what to say, he scratches the back of his head and fishes for the right words.

Yui doesn’t give him a chance to react before she collapses in his arms, burying her face in his chest and groaning,  _"So close!_ The stupid mops got in the way! Daichi, couldn’t you have come even five minutes later?”

"What… exactly were you going to do?" he wonders, beyond amused by this point. "Jump out of the closet and yell, ‘Boo?’"

She playfully shoves him when she sees the smile creeping up on his face, huffing lightly from the embarrassment. “Actually, I was going to yell, ‘Go, go, let’s go! Let’s go, Datekou!’”

Daichi buries his face in her neck, trying to hold back his laughter and failing miserably. His shoulders shake from his light snickers, and it prompts Yui to giggle herself.

"Ten times scarier, right?" she laughs, beaming.

"Oh, if only Asahi had come in here first," Daichi laments, holding her close.

.

Several surprise piggy-backs, dozens of jump scare attempts, and a particularly bad mishap at the cultural festival involving a haunted house, a horse costume, and a small but manageable fire later, the two move on to college and, subsequently, move  _in_ with each other.

Daichi, Yui learns then, is not always all there in the mornings before his first cup of coffee. It’s honestly a shock, because he’s always been so strong and together that seeing him groggy and dazed is new and unexpected. And just about the  _cutest_ thing.

"What are your plans for today?" she’ll ask him cheerily, and he’ll sort of look at her with a dead gleam in his eyes.

_"Hn."_

She thinks this might be her chance. It’s not often that she’s more alert than her boyfriend, mainly because she never wakes up  _first,_ but one morning her eyes crack open to find him slumbering peacefully beside her, and this is going to be  _good._

Approximately one hour later, she hears him shuffle into the bathroom and smothers her laughter behind the shower curtain. She hears the toilet seat go up, and this is probably a bad idea because he would  _piss himself_ in fright, but still she gleefully shoves aside the curtain and cries, “SURPRISE!”

Daichi doesn’t react.

It takes him a minute, and then he  _slowly_ turns his head to face her, his eyelids barely open from the heaviness of sleep. Blink. Blink. Then he turns back to the toilet and continues pulling down his boxers.

_"Ew! Daichi!"_ she screeches, covering her eyes and clumsily hopping out of the shower. “I’m  _in_ here!”

He doesn’t even bother shutting the door after her.

.

Weekends are nice because Yui can just lose herself in Daichi’s arms and lazily watch as he flips channels on the TV. Neither of them really pays attention to the screen — it’s nice just to focus on cuddling with each other — but the muffled sounds in the background are still comforting.

"Daichi?" she mumbles, slipping farther down his chest, where she presses her cheek against him.

"Hm?" he replies absentmindedly, still monotonously pressing the channel up button, passing movie after movie as they reflect in his eyes.

She peeks up at him, then in a small, thoughtful voice, she mumbles, “I love you.”

His thumb freezes. In fact,  _all_ of him freezes. He takes a moment to process, and then he glances down at her with rapidly blinking eyes and a slack jaw. She smiles sweetly in return.

"You… I…  _love…_ what — _huh?”_

This is the first time the word has ever been said between them, and it had come completely out of left field.

Eagerly pulling herself up, hands almost slipping on the sofa on either side of him, she leans into his face and grins radiantly. “Surprised you, didn’t I!” Shaking his shoulders in her enthusiasm, she insists, “Bet you weren’t expecting  _that!”_

He rubs his forehead, trying to clear the fog in his mind. “So… you just said it to…”

” _No._ Of  _course_ not.” She punches his shoulder for good measure, for  _ever_ thinking that way. “I mean it, of course. But you gotta admit, I surprised you! I took you down! Didn’t I?”

She eagerly awaits his response, heart pounding, cheeks flushed. If she’d had a tail it would have been wagging at this very moment, and Daichi smiles hazily at the visual.

"You did," he relents, lightly stroking her cheek with the back of his fingers.

She punches her arms in the air in celebration. “Victory!”

But in the end the victory is his, when he flips them over on the couch and swallows her surprised shriek with a long, meaningful kiss.


	6. Couch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohoho~

Yui wondered when exactly the couch had stopped being a place just to  _sit._ Maybe it was when Daichi had first pressed her back into the cushions, illiciting a gleeful shriek, even though at the time it had been more of a playful tackle than anything. Maybe it was when she’d first realized the couch cushions were soft and comfy and just  _heavenly_  pressed against her. Maybe it was after that first hickey, so unexpected and spur-of-the-moment and  _thrilling_.

She wondered, but it was just one of many thoughts that spiraled through her hazy mind as she laid against the cushions, her toes curled in response to the fluttering feeling in her stomach, and Daichi stretched out on top with his lips upon hers.

"I’m not hurting you, am I?" he murmured against her mouth, pressing kisses at the edge.

At any other time, when they weren’t already so far into their lip lock, she probably would have rolled her eyes, maybe punched his arm. He was constantly worrying, always afraid of nestling between her legs as he had now. She had to assure him again and again that he wasn’t that big and he wasn’t that heavy and she wasn’t  _that dainty._

Her hands finding his face, she stroked his cheeks up and down with her palms. “Of course not. And you would never.”

His lips slid from the corner of the mouth to over hers, groaning against her mouth in a pleasant way that vibrated against her lips, and Yui couldn’t help grinning through their kiss. He was eager and it made her feel good; she was used to Daichi being the more patient of the two of them, but in moments like these he couldn’t sit still or ever seem to get enough, and it made her feel warm all over to be wanted that badly.

They kissed slow for a moment, keeping an easy rhythm that they had found after months of first kisses and practice kisses and shy kisses and passionate kisses, before Daichi did as he always did: he dipped without warning, his mouth finding her neck, and his tongue slowly trailed up her skin.

Yui gasped, desperately clutching his broad shoulders as if to ground herself and pressing her thumbs into the fabric of his shirt. “Daichi!” she whined, wriggling where she lied.  _"Warn_  me when you do that!  _Geez.”_

His answer was a low hum, mixed with what sounded suspiciously like a soft chuckle, as he peppered his lips up to her jaw, where he found his favorite spot — at the end of her jawline,  _right_  below her ear — and lavished it with attention.

Yui flushed. She wished the TV was on, so that they weren’t in the middle of dense silence. It was embarrassing to hear the sounds of his frantic kisses leaving her skin, or to hear their labored breathing mixed with those throaty sounds she’d only recently discovered she was capable of making.

_"Da-i-chi,"_  she keened when he began to suck, her head angling back on the sofa arm and her knees tucking snugly against his waist. “This isn’t  _fair.”_

He broke away very suddenly, breathing hard, and hovered over her. “And what would make this fair?” he wanted to know, smirking. His voice was husky from lust and it was so  _very_  attractive.

"I-I-I don’t  _know,”_  she murmured in a soft voice, not having expected the question, and had to look away. Bashfully, her bottom lip sucked into her mouth, she met his eyes through a sideways glance and mumbled, “Maybe… if I got to be on top of you?”

Hearing the words aloud left her turning red across the bridge of her nose and all the way to her ears. Had she  _really_  just said that? But Daichi seemed to give it some serious thought now that she had brought it up, his lips slanting in contemplation, his eyebrows dipping lightly as he pondered the idea.

"Okay," he decided, nodding once, and Yui almost squeaked at the sudden loss of his weight on top of her, along with his fingers hooking through hers and pulling her along. He pressed his own back into the cushions, then helped her adjust herself on top of him, her legs snug against his hips. "Something like this?"

His grin left her burning, and she nodded shyly. She also wondered  _when_  exactly she had started feeling shy around Daichi, because it had certainly not been that way in high school. Starting a relationship had changed all sorts of things — but in a good, red-faced, sweaty-palms, fluttering-stomach kind of way.

And, oh, great. Now it was up to  _her_  to lead.

Daichi waited very patiently for her to make her move, just watching her with affection in his eyes and no impatience to speak of. She placed her palms against his stomach, then experimentally dragged them up his torso, feeling the pull of his muscles under his thin shirt. And he was warm. He was  _always_  warm, and once Yui had wondered whether it was because his heart was warm, too.

"Your heart’s beating fast," she noticed, then giggled at how cliche that sounded. Laughter always worked wonders loosening her up, though, and she grinned when her gaze landed on his lips. "I’m going to kiss you now," she announced to the room, before eagerly swooping in.

She kissed him cautiously, her thumbs pressing into his jaw, and a thrill ran down her spine when she felt his hands wandering down her sides, outlining her frame. His hoodie was giant on her, but he seemed to like the softness of the fabric because he paused in his path to stroke his fingers against it. Yui almost laughed again; he was dangerously close to her most ticklish spot.

His hands slipping under the hem of his hoodie sobered her up in an instant, however, and she startled when the pads of his fingertips touched her bare skin.  _"Hmm…"_

He stroked her again, without the barrier of the hoodie this time, easing her into it. She was kissing him harder now, almost in response to his touches.

And that was when she heard the zipper of her shorts being undone, and then his fingers ran along the bare skin of her hips, right above the outline of her underwear.

She gasped, ripping away from him, pressing the back of her hand against her lips and looking down at him with frantic eyes. Her face felt like it was flaming, and it probably was in color.

"S-Sorry!" He instantly yanked his hands away, holding them up for her to see, and looked back at her with regret written plainly on his face. "Sorry, Yui. W-Was that… too much?"

She pressed her hand harder against her lips, but shook her head.

"I don’t… want to pressure you into anything," he told her carefully, watching her face with keen, sharp eyes. "You can tell me if it was. We don’t have to — I-I mean, I won’t…"

"It’s not like w-we haven’t… already…" she squeaked, her voice coming out more shrill than she had anticipated.

They had, in fact. But sex was new to both of them. She could count on one hand the number of times they had done it, even though there had been  _so_  many close calls before their very first time, most of which had been interrupted by various members of his old Karasuno team.

The regret on his face had melted away, but it had been replaced by a serious set to his jaw. “Just because we’ve done it a few times doesn’t mean I can’t still take it too far,” he said sternly, frowning. “I want you to  _tell_  me if…”

"Y-You didn’t!" she insisted, shaking her head. Her previous bravado returned to her, and she clutched his chest through his shirt. She couldn’t let Daichi think he’d  _ever_  made her uncomfortable when he’d only ever made her feel wonderful. “I was just surprised, I swear! And only a little bit embarrassed. But mostly just surprised!”

He watched her suspiciously, like he couldn’t be sure she wasn’t just saying those things to appease him. “You’re sure?”

_"Positive."_ She bobbed her head, her expression one of stubborn resolve. “I’ll prove it to you!”

Reaching for the hem of his hoodie, she began to hastily yank it off, her arms crossing so she could easily pull it over her head. Only her bare stomach had peeked out, however, when he frantically yanked it back down. Her pouting face reappeared from behind the collar.

"You don’t have to start  _stripping_  in front of me!” he insisted, looking like she’d punched him in the gut rather than attempted to take her shirt off. But there was red on his cheeks, so maybe that was a good thing. He saw the sullen look on her face and cleared his throat, rubbing his neck and looking away. “I mean, we can… take it slow. Okay?”

She brightened considerably, nodding her head. “Okay! And, um, can we go back to you being on top of me? I don’t know how I feel about this whole leading thing yet.”

His laugh was loud and amused as he flipped their positions back, hovering over her.

Yui scrambled for the remote, looking for some dull movie to play quietly in the background. Hearing the sounds of their kissing had been embarrassing enough. She didn’t think she could handle sex noises just yet.

Daichi didn’t question her, but he stroked her cheek when she smiled up at him. “Slow,” he promised.

"And willing," she assured him.

They smiled into their kiss.


	7. Chapter 150

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok, so i wrote this a few days ago, when the raws for chapter 150 came out, but since this takes place _during_ the chapter, i waited until now to post it on here because i wanted to edit all the dialogue once the translations were out so that it was accurate. so it goes without saying, but there will be spoilers in this one for anyone who hasn't read the latest chapter!!
> 
> And now, please allow me to freak out: OH MY GOD DAIYUI CONFIRMED (on yui's side) SHE WAS BLUSHING SO HARD I KNEW I WASN'T NEEDLESSLY SHIPPING THIS SHE'S GOT IT BAD FOR DAICHI AND MY OTP IS REAL
> 
> *breathes out*

“I-I don’t think I can do this.”

Both Aya and Kanako almost took a step away when they noticed how green she was around the edges of her face, wary of the chance of vomit flying their way. She fidgeted on the spot, looking about at the crowd as if Sawamura would jump out and yell  _‘boo!’_ The thought made all her built-up courage fly out the window.

“Nope, _definitely_ can’t do this,” she choked out, and swung back around.

Kanako stepped in her way with a bland look, not even bothering to pull her hands out of her pockets. Yui collided with her chest and went stumbling back, her nose scrunched up from the impact.

“You’re not backing out  _now,”_ she huffed, frowning. “You made us come with you to the shrine and everything. And you totally chickened out with your chocolate on Valentine’s day, too. That was your one pass for the year.”

“But, but, but…” She fiddled with her fingers, flitting her eyes to the ground to avoid Kanako’s stern look. Her friend was usually so easygoing, but really showed no mercy when it came to Yui.

Her eyes met Aya’s by accident, and she brightened, seeing a way out of this dilemma in her other friend.

“Aya!” she wailed, taking her hands in her own and shaking them vigorously. “You’re on my side, aren’t you?”

“Sorry, Yui,” Aya laughed, averting her pleading gaze so she wouldn’t cave. “I’ve always thought you and Sawamura-kun would make a cute couple. And you’ve liked him for  _so long._ So…”

“Isn’t it enough that I’m going to cheer him on in the match?” she argued, clenching her fists and looking between her two friends.

Kanako narrowed her eyes.  _“You_  were the one who wanted to get him a charm in the first place,” she reminded her, shaking her head. “We got up early to go to the shrine and everything.”

“That’s because I  _thought_ I would have the guts to actually go through with it then!” she groaned, burying her face in her hands. Her fingers tangled into her bangs, which had grown out alarmingly fast in just a few months’ time. “What was I  _thinking?”_

“I think you should do it!” Aya piped up brightly, smiling. “You’re dressed so cute today and everything! Sawamura-kun would be  _lucky_ to get a charm from you.”

Yui looked down at herself, at her knee-length dress and her tidy sneakers. And her hair had even allowed itself to be tamed that morning — more than usual, at least. The girls in her class  _were_ always saying that dressing nice gave its own kind of courage.

Kanako took advantage of her split-second hesitation and clapped a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it in her grip so Yui couldn’t escape.

“Let’s go,” she declared seriously, and with a flustered Yui struggling at the end of her iron grip, she led the way to the stadium. Aya brought up the rear with a cheery smile.

.

It was kind of incredible how quickly she changed. Both Kanako and Aya exchanged quick looks, small smiles playing at the ends of their lips, when Yui, at the first sight of Sawamura, perked up like she’d just seen a litter of kittens nuzzling one another. Her back straightened, her cheeks flushed a pretty shade of pink, and the twinkle in her wide eyes was only matched by the brightness of her grin. She had it  _bad._

Waving an arm over her head, she called out, “Sawamura! We came to cheer you guys on!”

The third-years were the ones to recognize her voice, and all three of them turned curiously to be sure they had heard right. Yui didn’t waste a moment bounding over, and she was so focused on Sawamura that she missed the way Sugawara grinned knowingly before dragging away a confused Asahi towards the rest of the team.

“You guys made it to the finals! Amazing!” she exclaimed, holding up a tight fist, and Sawamura looked pleasantly surprised as he turned back.

Kanako let the pleasantries commence for a moment, but when it became apparent that Yui was just beating around the bush with all her cries of “unbelievable!” and good luck wishes, she  _very_ discreetly jabbed her in the back with the side of her elbow.

Yui stumbled, catching herself just a few paces before she could collide into Sawamura’s chest, and her whole visage changed once again. Suddenly the color on her cheeks was for a completely different reason, and it was no longer a pretty pink, but a fierce, raging red. She met Kanako’s eyes, who gave her pointed look, before hastily reaching into the pocket of her jacket.

“That! I! This!” she stuttered, her eyes wild with embarrassment as she looked away. She had to swallow a few times to work up her courage once again. “I-I got you a charm!”

He glanced down in surprise as she held it out to him, clutched tightly under her trembling thumbs.

“F-For you!” she insisted, and her voice went shrill with each intake of breath she took. “I-I mean, this isn’t  _just_ for you specifically. It’s for everyone. T-This isn’t really—”

_“Ooh,_ thank you!” Sawamura cut across her, and he was grinning as he accepted it without pause, taking it into his clutch and examining it for a moment. He didn’t notice the way Kanako rolled her eyes, but then again, his focus was all on Yui, too. “I’ll put it on the bench. Please cheer loudly for us! _”_

Yui perked right back up again, partly from relief that her gift had been so well-received after all the fretting she had done, and her hair bounced a little as she saluted his retreating back. “Leave it to me!”

His team wasn’t too far ahead, and Yui kept on grinning as she watched his back get farther away. They heard Tanaka ask him what was in his hand, but his reply was lost as he reached the front of the group of boys to lead them inside.

And finally Yui faltered, the red returning to her cheeks, and swung around to face Kanako with an incoherent noise. Stumbling towards her friend, looking like she  _badly_ wanted to cover her face right then, she stuttered, “H-H-How was that?”

“I’m amazed you even managed to give it to him.” Kanako nodded in approval, clapping her shoulder. “So that was good, Yui. Maybe next time you won’t have to play it off like the giri chocolate.”

_“Ugh,_   _when_ are you going to let that  _go?”_ she whined, stamping her foot. “I can’t help it! It’s hard to think straight when Sawamura looks at me so closely like that, you know.”

“I think you did great, Yui!” Aya piped up encouragingly, and patted her other shoulder. “And I think getting a charm was a great idea. He looked really happy to receive it.”

She rubbed her arm, lip curling as she stared at the ground, then mumbled, “Really…?”

Aya bobbed her head, trying hard not to giggle at how flustered Yui looked just at those words. She was insanely cute whenever Sawamura was mentioned. “Yeah! It’d be really nice if they won, don’t you think? I bet he’d appreciate it even more then.”

“They  _will_ win,” Yui stated confidently, squaring her shoulders. Sawamura was great, one of the best players she knew, and there was no doubt in her mind that he would lead his team to victory. Her voice didn’t even waver as she said it, that’s how confident she was.

Kanako clapped her hands once, a bland look in her eyes. “All right, then, it’s decided,” she declared, straight-faced. “If the team wins, then Yui will finally confess to Sawamura.”

_“H-H-Huh!”_  Yui squeaked, eyes widening, mouth falling open.

“Yay!” Aya cheered with a giggle, falling into step beside Kanako as they headed for the stadium. “Finally!”

“W-Wait…” She trailed after them helplessly, shaking her head, flailing her arms, but they paid her no mind. “I n-never said… I-I mean…  _guys.”_

But her weak protests went unheard.


	8. A Whole New World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"daichi-san is an adult"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> steph and i were bouncing headcanons off each other once again, and one way or another we ended up thinking of this scenario and i just _had_ to write it! i was actually working on it for a long while, and then chapter 150 happened and finally gave me the motivation to finish!

The third-years graduated to college, leaving dejection in their wake, but the team held itself together with the reminder that they were not gone  _forever,_ that they were still friends and ex-teammates and an important part of each other’s lives _._ It was with this reassurance that Hinata nervously called Daichi for the first time since his departure, wanting to know more about his new, grown-up world.

"Oh, Hinata!" he boomed cheerily on the other end, the same old Daichi that he remembered, and he relaxed his tense grip on his phone, grinning in relief, as they fell into conversation about Karasuno and the team and the newest players to join, as easily as if Daichi had never left. And it was maybe about ten minutes in that Hinata heard it: a soft, high-pitched giggle from the other end of the line, followed by Daichi hastily shushing the person, so obviously holding back his own laugh.

For some inexplicable reason, Hinata felt himself blush.

He hadn’t realized Daichi had company over, or he wouldn’t have called. And  _female_ company at that.

Hinata had never had a girl over at his home before, and certainly would not have thought of having one around without his mother’s supervision. So that Daichi could have one over at his apartment, just the two of them, was a reminder that he was a mature, grown-up college student now.

Hinata swallowed loudly. “Um, D-Daichi-san?” he stammered, once again clutching his phone like a lifeline. “Are you… busy?”

"What? Huh? Oh, no," Daichi was quick to assure him, his attention returning to their conversation. "No, I’m all yours, Hinata. Why don’t you tell me how your studies have been going,  _hm?”_

He yelped, less at the reminder of the English exam he had failed just last week and more at the stern, fatherly tone in Daichi’s voice, and launched into a long, long tale of his many study group adventures with Kageyama and Yachi. He’d just gotten to the best part, about when he’d miraculously gotten  _every single question right_ on one practice worksheet, when he heard it again: a full laugh this time, breathless and playful, and much closer than before.

Daichi cupped the receiver completely, but still Hinata could hear him chuckle, “Michimiya, I’m trying to talk.”

"We’re gonna miss our movie." There was a pout in her voice.

"Daichi-san, r-really," Hinata spluttered, turning red down to his neck. "I-If this is a bad time, I can call again!"

There was a surprised shriek from his end, followed by a loud laugh, and Daichi probably hadn’t heard a word he’d said with the commotion happening on his side at the moment. After a long stretch of silence and muffled rustling, he came back on the phone.

"Hinata?" he said quickly, sounding out of breath. "You mind if I call you back? I’m sorry about this, but—"

"N-N-No problem, Daichi-san!" he screeched over him, his spine going rigid from the embarrassment of all that he had overheard. He wasn’t even sure  _why_ he was embarrassed, but it strangely felt like he’d overheard something very private. “S-S-Some other time, then!”

Before Daichi could get another word out, he slammed the phone down on the receiver, then clutched his beating heart.

Daichi-san had a  _girl_ over at his apartment. They planned to go to the movies together. They even playfully wrestled, by the sounds of it. If he didn’t know better, he might even have suspected that Daichi-san had a  _girlfriend._

He blushed at the very thought, because it was hard to picture his old captain with a girlfriend when he’d always been such a strong and steady presence in his life, someone who hadn’t seemed interested in girls at all. Maybe college had changed him, made him into a grown-up who wanted a girlfriend he could be alone with in his apartment and take to the movies and kiss in the dark.

If that was what going to college meant, then Hinata wasn’t sure he  _ever_ wanted to go.

.

It was not too long into the semester when the old third-years planned to drop by for a visit one practice. Noya was the one to receive the call from Asahi, and he didn’t waste a moment jumping for joy and bringing the news back to the team, most of whom couldn’t resist jumping for joy right alongside him.

Hinata was one of them. He’d  _missed_ Daichi’s reassuring presence, Sugawara’s refreshing smile, and Asahi’s gentle personality. And more than anything, he’d missed playing volleyball with them.

He was so over-the-moon elated, in fact, that on the afternoon of their arrival, he decided he couldn’t just  _sit_ there and wait.

"I’m gonna go wait in the courtyard!" he announced cheerfully, bouncing out the door and ignoring Kageyama’s "dumbass!" from behind him. He would be the first one to greet them for _sure._

He heard the shuffling of feet and the muffled voices before he saw them, and not one to waste a single moment, the redhead eagerly looked around the corner to welcome back his returning senpai. Except what he saw had him freezing in his tracks, the smile wiping clean off his reddening face.

It was Daichi, the same old boy he remembered, but on his arm, their fingers interlocked, he had a girl that Hinata just vaguely remembered when he looked closely enough. They were _holding hands._

"It should be a couple of hours," he heard Daichi say in thought, head titled to the sky as he mused.

"That’s perfect!" she exclaimed cheerily, grinning. "I wanted to check on my girls, too."

"How about dinner after?" Daichi suggested, smiling himself. He pulled her a little closer and his smile widened at one end, slanting into that easygoing grin Hinata remembered too well. "I could make reservations at—"

 _"Noooo,"_ she interrupted him, whining playfully, and with a stubborn glint in her eyes, she stamped her foot and requested, “Daichi, cook for me.”

He chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. “Oh, all right. Then we’ll have to shop for groceries first, though.”

"Ooh!" She raised her free hand, eyes sparkling and heels bouncing, like an excited child.  _"I_ wanna drive this time! Can I?”

He shot her a stern look, eyebrows puckered and mouth pinching into a frown. His “captain” look. “Yui, you almost crashed into that tree last time—”

"But I  _didn’t,”_ she insisted, her bottom lip curling, either from the memory or that he was dredging up the past. “Come on, Daichi. Please, please, please, please, please, please, please?” When it looked like he might still refuse, unsure about trusting her behind the wheel, she dragged on.  _"Come ooooooooooon."_

"Oh… all right," he finally relented, sighing lightly in defeat. Still, he couldn’t seem to resist her small, ecstatic cheer of victory, for it left him chuckling. "I’ll come get you after practice."

"Mm-hm." She bobbed her head in agreement, grinning wide, content that she’d gotten her way. "Say hello to Sugawara and Azumane for me, if I don’t see them myself."

"Will do."

Just before they parted, their fingers already uncurling, he leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek. And a high-pitched squeak accidentally slipped past Hinata’s lips the moment he saw lips connect with rosy skin. Startling himself, afraid of getting caught, he clapped both hands over his mouth and bolted from the scene, but his ears burned at the memory of everything he had witnessed.

Daichi-san  _did_ have a girlfriend — a girlfriend he held hands with and kissed on the cheek and cooked for and went grocery shopping with and gave into and basically just spoiled. They might as well have been a married couple, Hinata thought shyly, because his parents did all those things, too.

"What’s with your face?" Kageyama demanded when he dashed back into the gym, a space he considered  _safe_. “If you catch a cold before our practice match next week…”

Hinata cupped his red cheeks and mumbled a weak, “I  _won’t.”_

There was no fight in him, and there was even less so when the doors to the gym slid open and he  _jumped_ as Daichi finally walked in, without a girl on his arm this time. Luckily, the team’s enthusiastic cheer at the return of their old senpai overshadowed his unattractive squeal.

"Miss me?" Daichi asked with a grin, and Hinata marveled that he could act so calm and together when he’d just been  _kissing_ someone.

.

The first set of plans the team, old and new members, made was a broadcast of a volleyball match they were all dying to watch, and Sugawara was the one to take it upon himself and offer up Daichi’s apartment.

"It’s the most central location," he reasoned, smiling that sweet smile of his that no one dared to refuse. "And it’s the biggest place, too."

"Oh, uh… r-right," Daichi relented, scratching the back of his neck, but everyone had known he would. He didn’t seem to mind too much at all, though, because the team arrived at his place one by one to find the living room cleared and the TV blaring with the pre-game commentary.

Too busy trying to hold his own in an argument with Kageyama, Hinata didn’t notice the recently familiar face until she settled down halfway onto Daichi’s lap, draped over his thighs as she lazily scrolled through messages on her phone.

 _“What,_ stupid?” Kageyama asked gruffly, when his snappy retort wasn’t met with an indignant comeback, and he frowned when he noticed the red on Hinata’s frozen face. Face pinched, he followed his line of sight to see for himself what had left Hinata tongue-tied. His own face completely froze.

“Look, Daichi!” they heard her laugh, and she eagerly pulled herself up to show him something on her phone, getting in close and pressing her cheek against his. “Look what Kanako sent me!”

He leaned in obligingly to look, and one of his arms almost reflexively curled around her waist, to hold her against him as they chuckled together.

“Uh…” Hinata scratched the back of his head, shyly looking away. “I-I think she used to be captain of the girls’ team. R-Right?”

He had finally remembered her face, though her hair was longer now and her face had matured somewhat, even after just a year of aging. He even vaguely remembered seeing her in the stands during last year’s match against Shiratorizawa.

Kageyama shoved him hard with his elbow, almost sending him flying. “Stop  _staring,_ dumbass,” he huffed, his shoulders tense.

Hinata stamped his foot defensively. _“You_ were staring, too, creep!”

“Was not!”

“Were  _so.”_

They locked fingers and engaged in an impromptu wrestling match, breaking apart only when Sugawara cleared his throat loudly nearby, a warning in his tone. Glaring daggers at one another, they dropped down to the carpet and huffily decided to ignore each other for the entirety of the match.

But while it was easy to ignore Kageyama, it was a little harder for Hinata to ignore the lovebirds (as his mother would call them). For one thing, they sat  _right_ in his line of sight. And for another, there was a lazy smile on Daichi’s lips as he stroked his girlfriend’s hair, who had once again folded her arms over his legs, her face pressed against them, and settled in to watch the match. He didn’t think that soft look on his face had anything to do with their home team scoring a point.

Kageyama suddenly jabbed his elbow into his side, still adamantly looking away, and Hinata flicked his head around to stare at the TV instead. His cheeks burned. This time he really  _had_ been the only one looking.

He felt silly. No one  _else_ was making a big deal out of it. Sugawara even wore this soft, knowing smile on his face whenever he managed to catch them doing something couple-like together. But he didn’t know how he was supposed to react to his beloved ex-captain suddenly having a girlfriend.

The game was a distraction. Everyone was engrossed, even Daichi and Yui, and Hinata lost himself in Nishinoya’s and Tanaka’s loud cheers and whoops anytime their team scored. Beside him, Yachi clapped with delight, spurred on by their senpai, and Kageyama huffed loudly as a sign of his pleasure. It was a comforting, familiar atmosphere.

Halfway into the match, Yui got to her feet and stretched loudly, her hands behind her head. “I’m going to make some tea,” she announced to the room, grinning. “Anyone else want any?”

There were loud choruses of  _‘me!’_  from all around the room, and she laughed as she took the headcount, counting them off on her fingers. When she had to bring out her second hand to keep the tally, Daichi sprang to his feet as well.

“I’ll help,” he insisted, following her into the kitchen.

They heard her scoff indignantly. “I can  _do_ it!” There was no bite in her words, mostly just a teasing kind of stubbornness, and she giggled as Daichi sped up to get ahead of her. Suddenly they were racing to see who could reach the kitchen first, and Sugawara shook his head, grinning softly, at the faint rustling sounds they could all hear drifting from the hallway, mixed with their light laughter.

“They’re cute,” Hinata heard Yachi whisper dreamily to Shimizu, who smiled in agreement and petted her head. 

He flushed again, tightly clutching his knees, and Kageyama shot him a strange look.

.

Hinata, upon reaching his second year, had realized something: his worst enemy was not Seijou, was not Shiratorizawa, was not even Nekoma. It was his own bladder.

When he began to fidget on the spot, his legs knocking together, Kageyama threw him a sideways glare and hissed, “Stop moving around so much, stupid.”

“B-B-But I have to  _pee,”_ he whispered back desperately, chewing on his bottom lip.

“Then go to the bathroom,” he snapped.

But Hinata couldn’t, because to get to the bathroom, he would have to pass the kitchen first. And he could still hear Daichi in there with his lady friend, doing who knew what. So he rapidly shook his head, refusing to budge.

When the fidgeting worsened, however, Kageyama smacked the back of his head, pushing him towards the hall, and he begrudgingly got to his feet. He was even more hesitant in the hallway, and he took light, careful steps the more he approached the kitchen, pausing when the sounds of clinking and the kettle boiling reached his ears.

“I’m gonna pour the water,” he heard Yui’s voice, and swallowed loudly.

“I’ll do it,” Daichi quickly offered, and there were more clanging sounds. It sounded like a spoon against the porcelain of the mugs. “You could burn your hand.”

She made a noise of protest. “I’m not  _that_ clumsy, you know.”

“That’s not what I was implying,” he backtracked, and Hinata pictured him shaking his head in the way he often used to.

“Well, I’m perfectly capable of pouring tea,” she argued, a pout in her voice. “I won’t burn my hand or anything, I promise. Here, pass me the cup.”

He obviously did not, because he insisted, “Really, I’ll do it.”

 _“I’ll_  do it!” She stamped her foot, and suddenly their voices were a lot closer, like they had moved towards the doorway.  _“Da-i-chi,”_ she whined, “gimme.”

“Nope,” was his smooth reply.

She growled softly as a response, a playful sound, before Hinata heard rustling and jumped as there was a loud noise of impact from inside. Alarmed, he peeked into the kitchen to be sure they were okay, and greatly regretted his decision.

They were close — close to him, close to _each other._ Daichi must have teasingly backed away with the cup, because now he held it above his head, out of her reach. And that noise must have been Yui bounding over in an attempt to swipe it, because now they stood chest-to-chest, their faces only inches apart. She was already on the tips of her toes, but still it was not enough, because her outstretched hand only brushed against his in the air. They stared at one another silently, breathing a little hard, neither making a move to step away.

Hinata noticed the way their eyes kept flickering down to each other’s mouths and covered his own.

“Give it here,” she whispered, breathless, staring into his eyes.

He licked his lips once, then grinned in a boyish way, a sly look on his face Hinata had only seen a handful of times, and never off the court.

“Nuh-uh,” he denied her, his voice husky, before he swooped down and pressed their lips together.

 _Eep!_ Hinata pressed his hand against his mouth harder, so the thought couldn’t bubble past his lips as an unattractive squeak, and rushed towards the bathroom before they could notice him. He had to go even  _badly_ now, after the sudden shock of what he had witnessed.

On his way back, he wasn’t quite sure why he did it — why he peeked back in. Maybe he wanted to see for himself that it had only been a split-second moment, so there was no need to be embarrassed. He tentatively moved his head around the wall, and his knees turned to jelly.

They were kissing fully now. The cup had been placed on a nearby counter and the tea had obviously been forgotten, as Daichi held her by her waist and she clutched his jersey over his arms, and they pecked at each other’s mouths in between light, breathless laughter.

Hinata pulled his head back out, his hand clutching his thrumming heart, and returned to the living room without a word. If anyone shot him a strange look, he pretended not to notice, but he also didn’t hear a single word of the rest of the game past the whistling in his ears.

.

The next morning, as he hurried to prepare for school and devour his breakfast and complete the last homework assignment he had put off the night before, Hinata realized he had forgotten his wallet at Daichi’s apartment. His school ID was in there, as well as his money for lunch, and so he had no choice but to retrieve it on the way.

Daichi had chosen a nearby university — it was only his heavy schoolwork that prevented him from visiting his old team whenever he chose to — and so Hinata raced out of his home in record time and pedaled there on his bike at dangerous speeds, hoping by some miracle that he could retrieve his wallet  _and_ still make it to school on time.

He was breathing hard by the time he made it to Daichi’s door, and he attempted to flatten his wind-swept hair as he hurriedly knocked.

“Daichi-san,” he said in a rush when it swung open, “I forgot my—”

He trailed off, his mouth clamping shut. Because the face staring back at him was  _not_ Daichi; it was smaller, rounder, with bigger eyes and pinker lips and rosier cheeks. She looked back at him in surprise, her hand still on the doorknob.

“Ah!” A thought seemed to strike her, and she eagerly pointed at him, beaming. “Hinata-kun, right?”

“I… uh… right.” He clutched his backpack to his chest and stared at the ground, feeling his face burn.

Looking proud of herself for remembering, she opened the door wider and gestured inside. “Come in, come in! I’ll tell Daichi you’re here.”

He shuffled in awkwardly, still clutching his bag like a lifeline, still staring adamantly at the ground in embarrassment. He just didn’t know  _where_ he was supposed to look. Certainly not at her legs, which were completely bare. And probably not at the over-sized jersey she wore on her tiny frame — a jersey he  _very_ distinctly remembered his ex-captain had been wearing last night.

“Wait here, ‘kay?” she told him cheerily, waving towards the couch. “I’ll go get Daichi. He should be out of the shower by now.”

“Um… there’s no need — I only came for my—” he tried to say, but she had already bounced off towards the bedroom and he tapered off a little helplessly.

The living room was still a bit of a mess from the previous night. There were crumbs all over the carpet and the cushions had been strewn about the room. The mugs of tea the two had brought in the previous night — they had returned with flushed faces, pretending like nothing scandalous had happened in the kitchen at all, and no one had commented about how long it had taken them — were gathered on the coffee table, yet to be washed and put away.

Maybe Daichi had been too tired last night, he mused to himself, looking about the room. They had left rather late, since all three sets had miraculously gone well into the thirties, and no one would have wanted to clean up at such a time. It was a rather unbelievable thought, though, because Daichi had always been so meticulous about cleanup when he had been captain, even when they had been exhausted from practice, but it was the only explanation he could come up with.

“Oh, Hinata!”

Daichi’s voice suddenly caused him to jump, and he swung around, his bag still in his hands, to watch him appear. He was shirtless and still damp from his shower, looking surprised at the early visit. Yui trailed after him, grinning cheerfully.

“I  _thought_ you would be back,” he continued, and with a firm look, he picked up Hinata’s wallet from behind a couch cushion. “I noticed you forgot your wallet. I just didn’t think you would come by this early. Are you sure you won’t be late to school?”

Hinata shrank under his stern look, extending a trembling hand and gulping loudly. “I-I’ll be sure to be on time!” he promised, his voice squeaky but determined.

The stern look melted away, and Daichi chuckled amiably as he handed his wallet to him. “I wish you had time for breakfast. Yui just made coffee.”

“It’s delicious!” she piped up from behind, then added, laughing to herself, “If I do say so myself, I mean.”

Daichi placed his palm on the small of her back, grinning. “It always is,” he told her, his voice gentle with affection.

Hinata looked back and forth between them and shrank back even more, wishing he could become invisible completely. He didn’t want to be caught in between them when they were looking at each other like that. At least last night the team had been gathered together; now he was here alone, just the three of them, with nothing to distract him.

And perhaps it was  _because_ there was nothing to distract him that he began to notice things, as he flitted his eyes wildly about the room. He noticed the complete mess in Daichi’s apartment, the jersey Yui had almost disappeared under, the smell of coffee in the air even though Daichi had been in the shower.

It crashed onto him like a volleyball to the back of Kageyama’s head.

She had  _spent the night. Here. Alone._ With Daichi. In his apartment. Just the two of them.  _Alone._

And they had done  _adult things._

Daichi hadn’t been too tired to clean up last night. He had been too busy. Doing adult things that Hinata scrambled to cover up in movies whenever Natsu unexpectedly walked in. With his adult girlfriend.

_Daichi-san was an adult._

He felt his brain physically snap at this new information, and perhaps it showed on his face, because both of them looked at him worry.

“Hinata…?” Daichi called his name slowly, reaching for him, perhaps to clap a steadying hand on his shoulder. “Are you… all right?”

He looked between them wildly — her, then him, then her, then him — and felt his face combust from his own mortification. Maybe that’s why he deftly avoided Daichi’s hand before it could touch him, hopping out of the way and just a little bit closer towards the door.

 _“I-I-I-I-I’m f-f-f-fine!”_  he screeched, eyes shut tight, his knuckles white as he gripped his backpack and his wallet against himself. “I-I need to get to school! I-I-I’ll see you some other time!” He bolted for the entrance.

“Wai — Hinata!” Daichi called after him in alarm, following him to the front door.

Hinata hastily threw on his discarded shoes and flew out of the apartment, his heart strumming in his ears.

Oh, god. He’d interrupted the morning after between two adults. He’d probably gotten  _right_ in the middle of their lovey-dovey time. Maybe they’d even been  _kissing_ again not long before he’d shown up.

Through the pounding in his ears, Hinata vaguely overheard their voices from around the hall, still at Daichi’s front door.

“Is he okay?” Yui asked in concern. “He was really red in the face.”

Daichi sighed, and he imagined him rubbing his forehead wearily like he often would. “He’ll probably be okay. He tends to over-think things sometimes and makes himself sick. I wonder what it was…”

Yui giggled lightly. “You’re going to get wrinkles if you keep worrying this much. That’s okay, though. I’ll still love you.”

Suddenly she squealed, laughing brokenly as Daichi presumably took her in his arms in a surprise attack, and then Hinata heard the smacking sounds of a deep, noisy kiss.

He covered his reddening face, and, predictably, went tumbling down the stairs right after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so basically, with hinata, i was going for the feel of a little kid finding out his older sibling has a girlfriend for the first time and not knowing what to do or feel about it. he's just a big, adorable ball of embarrassment and shyness and awe :)
> 
> also, casual daiyui for my soul~


	9. Best Kept

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> secretly-dating fics are my weakness and this had to be done

It was late. Somewhere dark and hidden, crickets chirped, and the moon peeked out from behind clouds to light his path. Shoving his hands into his pockets, Daichi quickened his pace.

The blaring lights from the convenience store marked his destination, but he skewered off the street and headed instead for the vending machine standing innocently beside the store. It was late and he'd woken up with  _such_  a craving for juice, and after the victory against Seijou today, well, he felt he deserved it.

The machine came to life when he fed it coins, and there was a loud  _thunk_  as his juice tumbled into the slot. He had only just picked it out, the cool drops of condensation sticking to his skin, when a chirpy, familiar voice disrupted the silence.

"Ah!  _Sawamura?"_

Shocked, especially for this late hour, he turned to find an equally shocked Michimiya jogging on the spot, dressed in light clothing and with sweat clinging to her forehead. He popped off the hood of his jacket, giving her a clear look of his face, and her surprise melted into an ecstatic grin as she recognized him.

"It  _is_  you!" Beaming at the unexpected encounter, she came to stop before him, hastily wiping at the sweat on her face. "What are you doing out here so late?"

He frowned, looking up and down the deserted street. "I could ask the same of you."

It was obvious by her disheveled appearance and the juice in his hand what both of them were doing out, but they made pleasantries anyway.

"I was just out for a run," she exclaimed, hands clasped behind her back. "I mean, I can't get practice in with the team anymore, but I can't  _completely_  let myself go, now can I? It would just destroy all my hard work!" She flexed her bicep playfully and giggled, since she knew she was nowhere near his level.

Daichi was less amused. "By yourself?" he lectured, not cracking a smile. "At this time of night?"

"Don't worry! If anyone tries to hurt me I'll just bust out my kung fu moves on them!" she joked, chopping once at the air. His frown seemed to deepen, turning even more stern at her flippant attitude, but she was not bothered. "What about you?"

"I wanted some juice," he explained, holding it up for her to see, but she shook her head.

"No, I meant, shouldn't you be resting? You have a match tomorrow!" As she said it, another thought seem to come to her, and her eyes glistened at the reminder. "Oh! Congrats on your win against Seijou! That's so...  _so_... just  _wow!"_

She hopped a bit where she stood in her excitement, simply beaming with admiration for him, and finally he seemed to relax. A smile even graced his lips, as he mumbled, "Thanks."

"But Shiratorizawa's gonna be tough, you know," she carried on, finger to her chin. "Shouldn't you be sleeping? Resting up?"

"I was," he assured her. "I just came out for some juice. I'm on my way back now."

"Oh!" Leaning in, she insisted, "Let me walk you!"

"Uh..."

If anything, it should have been the other way around, Daichi thought firmly. But Michimiya knew the way to his home and had already begun to lead the way, turning back just to wave a hand over her head and laugh, "Come on, Sawamura! Or else I'll leave you behind and this'll be pointless!"

He indulged her, however reluctantly, because that smile of hers always made it seem criminal to ever refuse a thing. She was a lot like Hinata in that way, but... softer, prettier. Daichi thought of that one time in middle school when she'd coerced him into that singing a duet with her during team karaoke, all with just that smile, even though he'd  _known_  he was tone deaf.

“But then you’ll go straight home, right?” he asked firmly, falling into step beside her.

“Sure, sure,” she laughed, seeming amused by his sternness. “Sawamura, I think sometimes you forget that not everyone is a first-year on your team.” He scratched his neck, looking sheepish, but she had dissolved into another round of giggles, something akin to affection in her eyes.

The night was cool, quiet. He remembered how parched he was and popped open his can of juice, but rather than taking a swig, he held it out towards Michimiya instead, offering her a sip. Brightening considerably, excited at the prospect of strawberry-mango punch, she accepted it with a chirpy “thank you!” and he had to smile at her gusto when it came to drinking juice.

“So tell me, Sawamura,” she hummed, as he took a swig himself, “what was it like playing against Seijou? Must have been tough! Don’t they have that genius setter that was on TV a while ago?” She scratched at her scalp, looking distraught. “Ahh, I wish I could have been there to cheer you on!”

“Don’t worry about it,” he chuckled, reaching over to muss her hair. He missed the way she touched the spot after he had pulled away, looking up at him in wonder. “I know you were there in spirit, cheering for us. That’s just as good-”

“Nuh-uh!” she cut across him vehemently, causing him to stammer off in shock. Scrunching up her nose, pumping a fist aimlessly over her chest, she insisted, “It’s  _so_ not the same! I should have been there! I  _wanted_ to be there. I’ll definitely go and cheer you on for the Shiratorizawa match. Definitely, definitely, definitely! I mean, it’s the  _finals._ I’ll come for  _sure.”_

She caught his startled eyes with her own determined ones, nodding curtly in promise. And he couldn’t resist a grin, half-impressed and half-flattered, one that she easily returned.

“Thanks, Michimiya.” His voice was soft, and she smiled extra widely in reply, showing teeth, her cheeks stretched enough to crack - brighter than the stars.

The moon suddenly threw a beam of light on their faces, and while it made her smile shine that much more brightly, the moment was ruined when she, for the first time, got a good and proper look at his face. She gasped.

“Oh, my  _gosh!”_ Clapping a hand over her mouth, she wailed, “Sawamura, what happened to your  _face?”_

“Huh?” It took a moment for him to remember the bruise, since the pain had subsided long ago. He’d honestly forgotten he was even bruised at all, and so he was quite blase as he touched his injury and explained, “Oh. Just a little injury during a match. It’s not a big deal.”

His words did nothing to soothe Yui, who gazed at the discoloration of his face with wide, stricken eyes, panicked and clearly upset. “It... it looks like it  _hurt,”_ she whispered, and her fingers hesitantly curled back in just before she reached out to touch the bruise herself.

“Well... it did then.” He shrugged. “But it doesn’t now. I promise, Michimya.” When she hesitated once more, he chuckled, “Stop looking like that. It’s fine. Stop worrying.”

She bit her lip and turned away, and he thought he heard her mumble, “How can I not?”

“Now you  _have_ to win, Sawamura,” she declared seriously, as they turned a corner and his house came into view. “Or else that injury will be for nothing.”

“Of course,” he laughed, purposely bumping his arm against hers. “I never planned on losing.”

His words seemed to bring her relief, for she was smiling once again as they came to stop before the front gate to his home. The house was quiet, undisturbed, as if no one had woken up and realized Daichi had sneaked out for a bit.

“Well, I guess this is where I leave you,” Yui exclaimed cheerily, already turning to go. She held up a single hand as farewell. “Make sure you rest up well, okay, Sawamura?”

But she hadn’t gotten very far before he called after her, placing his can of juice on the fence wall and shrugging out of his hoodie. “Michimiya? Wait.”

She angled her head in question, but rather than an inquiry, a squeak tumbled past her lips when he dropped his jacket over her shoulders. She flustered, wildly searching his face, but he took his time tucking her arms into the sleeves and pulling the hood up over her head.

“There,” he declared, satisfied. She was practically swimming in his hoodie for how big the sleeves and shoulders were on her. “So you don’t catch a chill in the night after you’ve been sweating. And here.” He pressed the remainder of his juice into her hand, smiling encouragingly. “I’m sure you’re thirsty after your run. Take care of yourself, okay, Michimiya?”

“Umm...” She played with the zipper of his jacket, her eyes wide and unblinking, a furious shade of red drizzled across the bridge of her nose.

Daichi chuckled, thinking she was just embarrassed to be shown so much attention. Michimiya had always been that way, shy under the spotlight despite her boisterous nature. He ruffled her bangs once, then turned to go.

“Um, uh, Sawamura?” she called out to him, clutching the can of juice to herself. She faltered when his gaze landed on her, staring at her intently, but bravely soldiered on. “Listen, um... I wasn’t gonna say anything. Like, maybe not  _never,_ but not this soon. And I, uh, didn’t stop you tonight just for this or anything, I swear. It’s just that, uh, uhhh, suddenly I  _had_ to tell you, you know? Because you’re so nice. And I can’t help it, this is how I feel. And I feel this way even more right now. So I just  _had_ to tell you. Even though I didn’t plan to. Okay?”

“...Michimiya?” He was utterly perplexed, and for good reason, but also mildly concerned because Yui’s face had turned into a giant tomato and he almost panicked, thinking she might have run too much without keeping hydrated and now she was about to pass out. “Are you... okay?”

If she had actually passed out he might have been prepared. He was  _not_ prepared for her to steel herself, to meet his eyes squarely, and to stutter through her blush, “I-I-I like you, Sawamura!”

The moon continued to shine. The crickets continued to chirp. And Daichi continued to stare at her blankly.

“...Huh?”

“As more than a friend!” she bravely continued on, her voice shrill. “For a long time now. I-I want to borrow your hoodies and wear them forever. I want to share juice with you. I want to come cheer you on in matches. I want to worry about you when you get hurt, and I want you to tell me you’re okay, and I want to still worry because I care about you, and I want you to  _know_ I still worry because I care about you. Always. Always, always, always!”

Daichi felt so dazed, disoriented, unable to believe this was even happening. Michimiya liked him. He’d gotten out of bed because he craved juice and there was none in their fridge, and now Michimiya was confessing to him under the night sky, red as an apple and drowning in his jacket and looking adorably nervous over his answer.

He meant to answer more eloquently, but with so many thoughts swimming through his mind, he only managed, “Uhh...”

Yui seemed to shrink at his answer, taking half a step back and averting his eyes, and shyly asked, “So... what do you say?”

What did he say? He hadn’t said anything  _yet,_ but the thoughts rushing through his mind painted a nice picture; meeting Yui in middle school, tiny and nervous but with unrivaled determination; his friendship with Yui, so open and honest and one of the easiest things in his lie; Yui’s smile, so full of sunshine and happiness even when she was hurting; the blush on Yui’s cheeks, an endearing red that started at her nose and spread across to her ears, fierce and so telling.

There was nothing  _to_ say, except a resounding, “Yes.”

Yui snapped her gaze back up to meet his, looking stunned, like she’d dreamed his answer just now. He grinned back, finding her exceptionally cute, and realized that every  _other_ moment he had thought her to be cute had been a sign he had been too dense to realize.

“I like you, too,” he told her confidently, and though he scratched the back of his neck, his words were a lot bolder compared to hers. “So... if you’ll have me...”

She blinked at him, once, then twice, very carefully set the can of juice by her feet, and then raced into his arms, squealing giddily with happiness. “Of course!  _Of course!”_

Daichi stumbled slightly from the impact, just barely managing to steady them both as the breath was knocked out of him, but the sight of Yui pressing her cheek against his chest and just barely containing her soft screams left him grinning. His hands came to rest on her back, much like hers had on his.

“So you can borrow my hoodies any time you want,” he assured her, chuckling.

“And I’ll always give you some of my juice.” She beamed up at him, thoughtlessly rocking onto the tips of her toes, so she could bring her face closer to his. “And you have to tell me when you’re hurt, so I can be sure to carry bruise cream with me. And, and, and I’ll come to all your games, and I’ll bring you good luck charms, and I’ll even make you a bentou, even though I’m not very good at it yet.”

“Tanaka will hate me,” he laughed, holding her close.

As he said it, a concern suddenly popped into his head. But Yui was still prattling off in her excitement.

“And we can call each other by first names and hold hands and go on dates and I want to sit in your lap sometimes and you have to give me surprise back hugs like in the movies and we can even kiss - and should we kiss right  _now?”_  she blurted out, looking up at him earnestly.

Daichi spluttered, for once the one caught off guard. “Uh, isn’t it kind of too soon for that?”

“Well...” She shyly bit down on her lip, but it seemed having her confession accepted had done wonders for her confidence, because she did not hesitate as she told him, “I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time now. So it’s not really too soon for me.”

His cheeks felt hot. He wondered whether he was blushing as he cleared his throat and tried not to look away from her eyes. “Okay. Then... let’s kiss.”

She closed her eyes in anticipation, leaning in so that their chests pressed together, and waited. The smile on her face made it difficult for her to pucker up, but she did her best, looking absolutely  _giddy._

Daichi took his time. He pushed the hood off her head and carefully tucked her hair behind her ear. It had grown longer, framing her face in a pretty way. She even had a clip pulling her bangs out of her face for her run, and if she hadn’t been waiting so eagerly for a touch on her lips he might have kissed her forehead instead. But she  _was_ waiting, with flushed cheeks and and eyes screwed shut, so he took her chin gently into his hold and swooped in.

He kissed her once, twice, and a third time, so light and innocent, but still he saw stars - and by the goofy smile on her face, she did as well. She tasted like strawberry-mango punch and he probably did too, and even years from now, he was sure, the flavor would make him think of this sweet kiss.

“But Michimiya?” he mumbled against her lips, the ends of his mouth turning stern.

_“Mmmm?”_  she hummed dreamily, still so lost in their kiss.

He brought her back to reality with a firm, “We can’t tell anyone about this.”

The nice moment ended abruptly.

Her eyes popped open, saddened with shock, and she slightly pulled away. “What?  _Why?”_

He stroked her cheek, trying to soothe her again. “I can’t let the team get distracted before this important time in the tournament. I can’t let them think  _I’m_ distracted. They need to be sure that their captain is one-hundred percent focused on volleyball and going to Nationals.”

“B-But that’s ridiculous!” she whined, even stamping her foot. “You  _are_ focused! Probably no one else is more focused than you are! Even  _I_ know that.”

“I know  _you_ know that,” he assured her gently, running his thumb down the side of her mouth, trying to ease her pout. “I know you know that I can give both you  _and_ volleyball my all at the same time. But the team, and especially the first-years... I don’t think they’ll be able to accept it so easily. And I’m their captain, Michimiya. You know what that means.”

She did, of course, since she’d been a captain herself not too long ago. She would have given  _anything_ for her team, for her girls, to see them win. Though that didn’t mean she had to like this.

“So... we’re breaking up after just five minutes?” she wailed, her lips trembling.

“Of course not,” he soothed her, holding her closer. “I’m not going to let you go so easily. I promise. Let’s date to our hearts’ content. Just... can we not tell anyone about it until we win Nationals?”

She gnawed at her bottom lip, looking away in thought. “Well... can I at least tell Kanako?” When he seemed to hesitate, she insisted, “Please? She’s my best friend and I tell her  _everything._ I could never hide this from her! And Aya, too. But I promise no one else will know!”

Of course he was more than willing to make sacrifices if Yui was willing to hide this relationship for him. He didn’t give it more than a single moment of thought before nodding. “All right. That’s fine with me.”

The grin returned to her face, and she kissed his cheek in gratitude. “Yay! Okay, I’ll be  _sure_ to tell them not to tell  _anyone_ else _._ Now, rest up for your big game, kay? I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Uh, about that,” he said awkwardly, feeling like a knife had pierced his heart when her smile dropped. “Maybe you shouldn’t come tomorrow?”

_“Whaaaaat?”_ she cried, distraught. “I promise no one will find out, Sawamura!  _Please_  let me come and cheer you on?”

He sighed. “Michimiya, I just know that with you in the stands I’m going to be constantly distracted. I mean, who can blame me?” He gently swept more hair out of her face and smiled, so she’d know he meant it.

Looking put out, but unable to argue when this was something so important to Daichi, she finally grumbled, “Okay, fine.”

“Thank you.” He kissed her cheek, and her grumpy expression immediately softened just a little. “Now, you head home and I will sleep for tomorrow.”

She pulled away from him reluctantly, plucking her juice off the ground and jogging to the end of the street. At the corner, she turned back and brightened considerably when she saw that he was still watching her, waiting for her to disappear from view. She waved cheerfully, and he chuckled as he obligingly held up a hand in farewell.

As she jogged out of sight, it occurred to him that he also had someone he had no hopes of ever keeping secrets from. He would tell Sugawara tomorrow, he decided, as he finally returned to his room.

.

Yui flopped onto her own bed with a loopy grin on her face, still wrapped up in Daichi’s jacket. She’d wash it before returning it to him, like she would her sheets, after sweating so much from her run. And she was a little embarrassed that she’d opted to do her big, grand confession while damp from her jog and looking so disheveled in appearance, but since everything had worked out fine, she didn’t dwell on it.

Her phone lay on her bedside table, and she eagerly flipped it open, scrolling through her messages until she found the group chat between her and Kanako and Aya.

_I confessed! Me and Sawamura are officially a couple!! Kyaaaaaa~ Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ_

_Oh, but we’re keeping it very hush, hush, at least until he wins Nationals. So you can’t tell anyone, okay?_

_BUT STILL!!! I’M SO HAPPY!!!! ヽ(*≧ω≦)ﾉ_

Flipping her phone shut, she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

.

She was woken that morning by a loud  _thud,_ which _,_ she discovered by cracking open her blurry eyes, was Kanako and Aya kicking open her door and invading her bedroom. Well, it was Kanako more than anyone, while Aya flustered behind her.

“Ugh,” Kanako groaned, wrinkling her nose. “Did you go on one of your late night runs again? Go shower, would you?”

“How did you...?” Yui wondered dumbly as she was unceremoniously yanked out of bed and steered towards the bathroom, towel in hand.

“Your mom let us in,” Kanako explained, then slammed the bathroom door shut after pushing her inside.

Yui stood blankly by the shower for a moment, still not completely awake. Peeling Daichi’s hoodie off herself made her smile; it was proof that last night had been  _real,_ that Sawamura Daichi was now her boyfriend after four years of hopelessly pining after him.

She returned from her five-minute shower, wrapped only in her towel, to find her friends going through her closet, pulling out clothes before hastily shoving them back in.

“Oh, you’re back, are you?” Kanako commented dryly, then shoved a dress into her hand. “Put this on.”

Yui obliged, dropping her towel on the floor and rummaging through her underwear drawer, but was still highly confused as she asked, “Why are you two here?”

“We’re going to cheer on the boys team at finals, right?” Aya piped up quietly.

“You’re the one who was going on and on and on about wanting to go,” Kanako reminded her, folding her arms. “Remember? We’re going to go buy a charm and you’re going to give it to Sawamura before the match? Now that lover boy’s finally your boyfriend, you gotta get there early and give it to him with feeling.” As an afterthought, she smiled and added, “Congrats, by the way.”

Yui froze, her head popping out from under the collar of her dress. She thought about her texts from last night and realized she’d left out some important information. “Oh, uh, did I not tell you guys? We can’t go.”

She offered them sheepish smiles when they stared back in surprise.

“Why?” Kanako demanded, narrowing her eyes.

“Well, Sawamura said he’ll get distracted if I’m there-”

“Bullshit,” she interrupted, hands on her hips. “We’ll just sit far away from the railing if that’s all he’s worried about. But you’ve been wanting to go, so we’ll go. He can’t just think only of himself.”

“Kanako,” Yui whined, straightening out the dress on her body. “I think him winning without distractions is more important than me going to see him play.”

“Is it?” Kanako challenged her, while Aya looked between them nervously. “Is it really more important? To  _you?”_

Yui faltered for a moment, considering her answer, but she had never been able to lie to Kanako and especially not when she looked at her with such stern eyes. “No,” she admitted, deflating a bit. “I  _really_ want to go. And I  _really_ want to give him a charm, too.”

“Then we’re going,” her friend declared, tossing her a jacket. “Shrine first, then the stadium. You’re gonna cheer the heck out of your boyfriend.”

However reluctant, Yui allowed herself to be dragged out of her room.

.

“Sawamura! We came to cheer you on!”

The third-years of the volleyball team all looked back in surprise, but only the girls noticed when Daichi’s eyes widened by a fraction - an action so small that no one except those who’d been already expecting it would have even realized.

Yui kept her cheery grin plastered on her face, thinking of her conversation with her friends only moments ago.

“You just have to pretend like last night never happened,” Kanako had advised her. “That’s what pretending not to be a couple is all about. You go up to him, give him the charm like it’s not big deal, like you’re just a friend. Just act like you’re seeing him for the very first time since the tournament began.”

It was with this advice in mind that she raced up to Daichi, not noticing the knowing smile on Sugawara’s face as he dragged a confused Asahi away, and exclaimed, “Wow! You guys making it to the finals is even wowier than wow! It’s amazing!”

“So’s your vocabulary,” she heard Kanako mutter beside her, and almost flushed. She couldn’t help it; she’d already  _told_ Daichi how amazing she thought he was last night, and she’d never been very good at improvisation.

Persisting on, she noticed the bruise on Daichi’s face, even worse now in the daylight, and cried,  _“Wait,_  what happened to your _face?!_  There’s a  _bruise!”_

Her words felt strangely exaggerated to herself, and she almost cringed at her awful acting. Thankfully his team seemed not to have noticed.

Daichi was, for his part, an exceptional actor. Despite his surprise at her unexpected appearance, he was very calm as he explained, “That kinda happened yesterday. It’s not nearly as bad as it looks, so don’t worry.”

She heard Aya smother a giggle as she hastened to find the charm, and blushed horridly. It didn’t help that she looked at Daichi’s wide chest and remembered being pressed against it  _just_ last night, or thought of how it had felt to kiss him under the stars. Fumbling all over herself, she dug the charm out of her pocket and hastily held it out towards him, unable to meet his eyes.

“Um, well, here!” she squeaked, presenting him with her gift. A boy from his team looked back curiously - and orange-haired first-year whom she recognized from the Inter High as the one with the inhumanly quick strike - and she rushed to play off the charm to avoid suspicion. “This is... i-it’s not  _just_ for you or from me o-or anything. I-I mean, it’s for  _a-all_ of you guys, and it’s from all of us, or s-something...” Her voice shrill, she carried on, “ _So,_ um!”

“Ooh?!” He must have noticed her panic, because he cut across her frantic rambling with a loud, grateful, “Thanks!” Snatching it from her hand, seeming genuinely pleased by the charm,  he flashed her a reassuring smile and exclaimed, “I’ll make sure to put it on the bench! We’ll be counting on your support!”

Yui brightened, saluting his retreating back. “Leave it to us!” She grinned as she watched him disappear into the group of boys, sure that if he could have, he would have looked back, before turning to Kanako with flailing arms and incoherent groaning.

“Just handing it over to him was a victory for you, huh?” Kanako drawled, seeming amused.

“N-No, I was totally fine!” she tried to insist. “After all, he’s my b-b-boyfriend.”

“Yeah, boyfriend of half a day.” Kanako rolled her eyes. “You were a nervous wreck. Admit it, Yui. No wonder your acting was so terrible.”

Yui bit down on her lip. “Was it really that horrible?” she asked quietly, suddenly worried.

“I don’t think the team noticed anything, though!” Aya hurried to assure her, smiling encouragingly. “So I think you’re in the clear.”

Yui’s answering smile caused them to smile in turn, and it was with renewed vigor that she led the way into the stadium. As Kanako had said, they planned to find a seat somewhere farther along the railing rather than too close by, so it wouldn’t be so easy for Daichi to spot her during the match. She didn’t think he seemed all that upset that she’d shown up despite his request, but she still wanted to make this easy for him.

But first, they took one step into the stadium and were absolutely  _floored_  by the hordes of cheerleaders lined up in the stands, along with a cheering crowd, all yelling, “Shiratorizawa! Shiratorizawa!”

_“Wow,”_  Yui squeaked, taking them all in. She knew Shiratorizawa was all business and was a favorite to win, but this was beyond her expectations.

Kanako nudged her side. “See? Aren’t you glad we came, Yui? Now there’s no  _way_ Sawamura can ogle all these cheerleaders, cause he knows you’d see.”

_“Kanako!”_  she said sharply, stamping her foot, affronted. “He wouldn’t in the first place! He’s not like that!”

She rather huffily led them across the stands, followed by a smirking Kanako and an amused Aya, and found them a row of empty seats she felt would give them a good vantage point. The Karasuno team seemed to be in a bit of disarray at the moment, and as the Shiratorizawa team walked out onto the court, looking as impressive as she’d always imagined, she noticed Daichi psyching himself up for the game.

She hesitated, not sure whether she should interrupt him while he was trying to concentrate, but felt bad about leaving things as they were without explanation. After a momentary pause, she pulled out her phone and found his number in her contacts, which hadn’t changed since middle school.

_I’m sorry! _(ﾉ ´ Д｀)_  I know you asked me not to come! I just really wanted to cheer you on!_

He must have noticed his phone vibrate in his bag, because she watched him pull it our curiously and held her breath as he read the message. A small smile skirted across his lips, before he typed out a reply.

_Don’t worry about it. My girlfriend wanted to support me. How can I be mad?_

Despite herself, Yui blushed and had to hide her face behind her hand. He’d called her his girlfriend.

_Still... I’ll try my best not to distract you, I promise!_

When his eyes flitted out towards the stands, seemingly in search of her, she ducked her head so she would be impossible to recognize.

_Don’t look for me! >____< Concentrate on your match, okay? I’ll be cheering you on, so good luck!_

This time he chuckled outright.  _Thank you. I’ll be counting on you to cheer me on extra loudly then._

He dropped his phone into his bag, slipping back into a state of concentration so quickly that her stomach flipped at the hard set to his jaw and the intensity in his eyes. Their conversation had gone undetected by his team, but the boys certainly noticed when their captain suddenly straightened his back and faced the court dead on, and like a domino effect, they all put on their game faces. This was, Yui marveled, what being a captain truly meant.

Suddenly she understood why their relationship needed to be hidden. Suddenly she loved Sawamura all the more for it.

The whistle blew to signify the start of the match, and Yui prayed for her boyfriend’s victory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> help i've fallen for yui and i can't get up


	10. 26, 4, 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i realized i have quite a few ficlets from tumblr piled up! :o i actually planned to not post them, until i scrolled through and realized there were surprisingly a lot.
> 
> these specifically were from a writing meme (hence the numbers and accompanying prompts).

**26\. tactile**

“You’re handsome today.”

His low chuckle elicits a giggle of her own. She feels a little embarrassed to be so forthright, even this late into the relationship, but his laughter vibrating through his chest, against her palm, is soothing and comfortable.

Smiling to herself, she gropes her way to his face, running her fingers up his jaw and flattening her palm against his cheek. Her nose wrinkles, but she’s still smiling. “You need to shave.”

“Cut me a little slack,” he laughs, a hand coming to rest on top of hers. “I just woke up.”

“That’s okay,” she assures him, laughing herself. “I like it when you don’t shave. Feels nice. And it tickles my hand.”

The sudden kisses he places on her eyelids leave her squealing, but still she doesn’t open them, even when her lashes flutter. “Your lips are all dry, Daichi,” she tells him, and just like she’d expected, suddenly they’re on hers, peppering kisses over mouth. She sees stars in the darkness and shrieks with delight at the sudden attack, kissing back as best as she can despite the surprise.

“How are yours so soft all the time?” he wants to know, and she hears the playful edge to his tone. Another kiss lands on her lips, delayed and unexpected. “Makes it hard to  _ever_ stop kissing them.”

She nuzzles into his neck, face burning at his frankness, and almost melts when strong arms wrap around her. He effortlessly spins them over, his back pressed against the mattress so she can lie on top, and she uses the chance to dig her fingers into his hair. She loves the feel of it; the softness of his locks, but the light roughness of the undercut round his neck.

“You’re  _really_ handsome today,” she squeaks, and has to hide her face again, so he won’t see her flaming cheeks. He probably  _feels_ it against his skin for how warm she is.

“You’re very biased,” he muses, but she hears the light embarrassment in his tone and it makes her heart  _sing_.

“Nuh- _uh!”_  The shrill protest is accompanied by a click of her tongue, and to prove her point, she wanders her palms over his face – his hair, his cheeks, his lightly wrinkled forehead, the bridge of his sharp nose, the curve of his light smile, the rough stubble along his jaw, and then back again. “My hands never lie to me!” she insists, and finally her eyes snap open.

Cloudy. Blank. Unseeing.

“There are three things my hands are never wrong about,” she says pointedly. “When I’m holding a volleyball, when I’m holding those earrings you bought me, and when you’re handsome. And the one I’m most sure about is the last one – because you’re  _always_ handsome.”

He makes a small noise of protest, but she thinks he might actually be  _shy;_ she can tell by the suppressed smile she feels on his lips, the way his cheekbones have lifted, the slant in his eyebrows. She kisses him again, without hesitation.

This time when he rolls them over, it’s not slow like the last. It’s abrupt, and suddenly she finds herself pinned underneath him, thinking off all those things she likes that she’s too embarrassed to say; she likes being wrapped up in his big arms, and exploring the width of his chest with her palms, and the way the muscles of his back pull and stretch with each movement, and how his hips feel smashed against hers. Every inch of Daichi is a dream she longs to touch, to engrave into her skin until even her fingerprints have memorized him.

 _I want to feel all of you,_ she thinks, in a private corner of her mind that Daichi has somehow always understood even without her needing to say it. He pulls at her clothes, sucks on her neck, but she takes her time peeling apart his shirt and ghosting her fingertips across his taut skin, feeling him out.

She spends the morning blissfully lost in her dream.

* * *

 

**4.** **irresistible**

(1)

She feels a bit like a pervert.

Which is absolutely  _ridiculous,_ she’s quick to reassure herself, because this is her boyfriend, for crying out loud, and she’s seen him in much  _less_ than just a towel around his waist, and they’ve been living together for how many months now? And, really, if he’d minded, he would have shut the bathroom door rather than leaving it wide open.

But still, she feels like a peeping Tom, even if it had only been an accident when she’d rounded the corner and found him stepping out of the steamy shower, hastily tying his towel low around his hips.

Because she should have walked away, not peeked around the corner with wide, watchful eyes.

Not sucked her bottom lip into her mouth when he’d swiped his hands across the fogged mirror and the muscles of his back had tightened along with the movement.

Not bitten down hard on her knuckles when a single drop of water had slid down his hip, tantalizingly slow, and disappeared under his towel.

He absentmindedly teases his hair, lightly exhaling through puckered lips to cool himself off in the dense steam, and she almost whimpers. He’s all hard muscle – big, strong, and sturdy – and she wants to run her hands all over him; the thought has her hiding her burning face behind her hands, but it doesn’t make it any less true.

But it’s not until the smooth, spicy scent of his cologne drifts down the hall, innocently wafting past her and beckoning her closer, that she hazily steps away from her hiding spot and stumbles into the bathroom in a bit of a daze.

Daichi seems surprised but not entirely troubled by her sudden entry, though he does falter when she, without a single word of explanation, buries her face into his wide chest and just  _breathes_ him in.

 _“Yui?”_ But there’s really no need for her to explain herself at all, because he knows this is her absolute _favorite_ scent and it makes her head go a little fuzzy in all the right ways.

The hazy smile on her face is answer enough, as she presses her cheek against his chest and her hands over his shoulder blades, not at all mindful of the water dampening her clothes. And she hums, the sound lazy, content, almost a purr.  _“Hmmm…”_

“Let me at least put on clothes,” he chuckles, a hand coming to rest on the small of his back.

“I like you better without,” she mumbles, grinning, shockingly unabashed. A finger runs across his skin _just_ at the outline of his towel. Her lust has the unintended bonus of granting her bravery, or so Daichi’s starting to learn.

His Adam’s apple bobs. “Yui…” There’s light warning in his tone because they don’t have the time to take this too far. He’d be  _more_ than willing to hold his girlfriend for as long as she wanted him to if only the day permitted it.

“I  _know,”_ she huffs, pouting. “But… just a little longer?”

And he’s  _so_  weak to those big, doe eyes, the way they glance up at him, wide and pleading, or the way they’re so filled with love and longing and every emotion in between. With a tortured groan, he buries his face in her neck, prompting a squeal, and smothers her in his embrace.

“A little while,” he agrees, and they sway in place, their smiles press against each other’s skin.

.

(2)

It’s really too much for his heart to handle.

He’s not expecting the shock when he walks into their bedroom that night, even if Yui’s always liked to sleep in his post-shower shirts; she likes to be surrounded by his scent, and she likes how secure it makes her feel, so Daichi is always more than willing to surrender it. He sleeps shirtless more often than not anyway.

But tonight he slips into their room to find that she’s already dozed off while he’d been changing for bed, even though normally she’ll wait so they can cuddle before sleep. The sounds of his entry cause her to stir, and she props herself onto one hand, rubbing at her sleepy eyes with her fist.

“Sorry, Daichi…” she mumbles, scrunching up her nose. “Did I fall asleep?”

The shirt slides off her shoulder, and with the neckline already much too low on her, made even lower since she had barely buttoned the shirt halfway, he spies the small glimpse of cleavage peeking out from underneath the fabric. Eyes roving up her bare legs, to where the top of her thighs disappear under the hem, he realizes she’s only wearing his shirt and not much else.  _Nothing_ else.

He swallows.

“Daichi?” she questions, curling in her legs. “What’s wrong? Why are you just standing there?” She pats the empty spot next to hers, smiling sleepily. “Come join me.”

If his silence confuses her, she says nothing as she puts her head on his chest and nuzzles into his side in for the night, her eyes fluttering shut. She makes a small noise of contentment against his neck.

“G’night.” A quick kiss to his cheek, and she’s already dozed off again.

But Daichi lies awake for  _hours,_ holding on to his slumbering girlfriend, who has no clue what she’s done.

* * *

 

**36\. that hurt**

She’d never seen him turn so pale before. Honestly, she had never seen him turn pale at  _all._ He was steady and put together almost all the time, able to tough it out through any situation, with a good head on his shoulders and a calm disposition.

But all it had taken was one word – an  _“ouch!”_ that had cut across his words just as abruptly as the knife had cut across the skin of her finger – and now here he was, pale and almost shaky as he dabbed at the blood, silent and intense.

She felt unsure about calling out to him; he was so focused on applying first-aid and didn’t really seem to be in the mood for talking, if his hard eyes and pressed lips were any indication. But still it felt like she should say something.

“Um… Daichi?” she spoke up cautiously, scooting her chair a little closer to his. Their knees bumped together, but still he did not look up from his task. She tried again.  _“Daichi?”_

Now she was just outright ignored, as he was too busy scouring their first-aid kit for bandages, and she was a little bit huffy that he didn’t seem to be listening to her at all. Adamant about being noticed, she leaned in close, then rested her other palm against his cheek, her thumb lightly stroking his cheekbone until finally he met her eyes.

She smiled, a reassuring gesture. “I’m fine, okay?” she insisted, her voice soft and careful. “I mean, yes, it hurt. But it didn’t hurt  _that_ badly, okay? Don’t look so worried.”

“You’re bleeding,” he said back, and his voice was so gravelly and barely controlled that she almost faltered. He exhaled loudly, the sound sharp in the silence of the kitchen, and dug his fingers into his hair. “ _God,_  Yui, when I saw the blood, I-I…”

Screwing up her face, she pulled back her fist and then punched his shoulder with all her strength. Granted it wasn’t very powerful, since her good hand currently rested in his palm, but the shock that registered on his face meant her message had gotten across.

“I’m not that breakable, Daichi!” she insisted, stamping her foot for emphasis. “It’s a little itty, bitty cut! I’m not going to die. So stop looking like I am.”

He closed his weary eyes, taking a moment to collect himself, before slowly nodding his head. “I know. I know, Yui. You’re strong. It’s just a cut. But…”

“You worry too much,” she giggled, wrinkling her nose, and once again her hand delicately cupped his cheek. “You’re sweet. And it’s fine if you worry, Daichi. But don’t look so scared, okay? I… don’t like seeing you make that face.”

He grinned at her then, finally, so she grinned back and leaned it to kiss his nose, nuzzling it against hers. And when her cut healed a few days later, he kissed her fingertip with great care.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the blind!yui idea for "tactile" came from tumblr user imsosrsly along with the request! and i loved it!
> 
> also, overprotective bf daichi melts my heart :3


	11. Kisses (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so one day i was feeling kind of down and wanted to write daiyui kisses to cheer myself up, and so i asked for kissing prompts. and i got quite a few! i got _so_ many that i wasn't able to finish them all that day, in fact. so these are the ones i've managed to finish, and after i slowly churn out the rest, i will post the accompanying part 2 ^^
> 
> also, heads up. the "apart for university" prompt started veering very, _very_ slightly into the mature territory. i mean, it's barely anything. just a line or two actually, i think, and nothing worth changing the rating over. but in case that would make you feel uncomfy, please do be aware!

**rainy day/locked inside of home**

Head tilting back against the edge of the bed, her hair fanning down against the mattress, she pressed her cheek against Daichi’s and groaned, “I’m  _bored.”_

He paused halfway through flipping the page of his book, glancing over at her with a low chuckle. His back pressed against the edge of their mattress, he curled in his spread legs, set down his book, and nuzzled his nose against her cheek.

“Nothing to entertain you?”

“It’s been raining  _all day,”_ she whined, huffing so loudly that it teased the little bangs still on her forehead. “Daichi, make it stop!”

“Be reasonable,” he laughed, hooking one finger to stroke down her cheek. “You’re getting a little stir crazy, huh?”

“And our date got ruined.” She frowned, disappointed that the nice hand-in-hand walk they had planned for that evening had gotten rained out. “There’s nothing on TV. You won’t let me practice volleyball in the house. What am I supposed to  _do?”_ She eyed the book in his lap, face crumpling. “And you’ve been ignoring me for your book, Daichi. Pay me a little more attention, would you!”

The smile on his face was so loving, so enchanted, it made it a little hard to be angry.

“What?” she mumbled, still refusing to loosen her pout.

But she was surprised when he suddenly leaned in, capturing her lips in an upside-down kiss without any warning, his fingers messily running through her dangling hair. Her eyes widened, but fluttered shut only a moment later. The rain tapping against the window, which had made her so ansty only moments ago, was suddenly so soothing.

 _“Mmmm,”_ she mumbled hazily when he pulled away, smiling a loopy grin. “What was that for?”

“You asked for attention,” he reminded her, still hovering close.

She giggled, and it brightened her face so that they didn’t  _need_ the sun to peek out from behind the clouds again. “Another one,” she requested eagerly, tugging him closer by his shirt. “I want  _more_ attention, Daichi.”

He kicked the book off his lap, leaving it forgotten on the floor as he indulged her in a flurry of inverted kisses.

* * *

 

**“oh no we’re going to be away from each other bc of university”  
**

Each one was more desperate than the last, hot and hasty and punctuated with their panting, pressed so hard against his mouth Daichi wondered how long the bruise would last.

“Yui,” he mumbled against her lips, trying to tear himself away. But she wouldn’t hear of it. “Yui, I’m going to be –  _hmmm…”_

She slid her tongue over his, and it took only one step before she had melded their chests together and tangled her fingers into his hair and groaned into his mouth in that needy way he knew meant she wanted him here and  _now._

When he returned the kiss – when he gripped her hard by her hips and smothered her in his embrace and tasted every inch of her mouth – she whimpered against him. A hand snaked down his torso, slid across his abs, and stroked him through his jeans. He grunted, a strangled sound, and pressed her to the wall to kiss her all that much harder.

Things  _couldn’t_ turn out this way. His cab was on its way. His train ticket was booked. He was leaving any second and Yui had known that when she’d jumped him suddenly by the front door for one last desperate kiss. But,  _fuck,_ her hand on his crotch was  _so goddamn good_ and she always knew how to weaken his knees.

He inhaled every inch of her, hoping to leave his imprint on her tiny body for as long as he was gone.

Then, through their messy lip-lock, she mumbled, “Don’t go.”

The kiss stilled, breaking away slowly with a smack of their lips, and even as Yui desperately tried to claw her way back, he held her away. That stern gleam in his eyes had her biting her lip.

“C-Couldn’t… couldn’t you leave tomorrow?” she asked, her voice shrill. “One day wouldn’t kill you, right? And then we… could be together?”

“Yui…” He closed his eyes, shook his head, breathed out slowly. “This isn’t the end.”

“But how do you  _know_ that?” she demanded, a stubborn tilt to her jaw. “What if you meet someone prettier and nicer, who smells like flowers and plays volleyball better than me? What  _then,_ Daichi?”

“There’s no one prettier or nicer–” he began, stroking her cheek, but she only rolled her eyes at the cliche answer. It made him chuckle, and he buried his nose in her neck. “You smell like apples and its my favorite scent in the world. And I don’t love you because of volleyball, but if I did, it would be because you have that wild and dedicated and cheerful style of playing that  _no one_ else could ever hope to have. Hm?” he prompted her, grinning his dashingly crooked grin.

She did her best to resist, visibly averting her gaze from that handsome smile. But they only had a few minutes, and if Daichi wasn’t staying another day, then she wasn’t wasting a single moment.

He startled when she kissed him again, all heated lips and throaty moans, but sank into her with just as much enthusiasm.

“Don’t forget my kisses, okay?” she breathed against him, cradling his face.

He grinned. “Never.”

* * *

 

**forehead kiss**

She found him in the classroom, as she’d thought she would, just slowly taking his things out of his desk and dropping them into his bag. The dull look in his eyes gave her pause, made her bite her lip and second-guess herself, but then she steeled her resolve once more and stepped into the room.

“Sawamura,” she called, though there really was no need, since he had looked over at the noise and seemed surprised to see her. “I saw Ikejiri-kun outside but not you. I’d wondered where you were.”

“Yeah, I still had to clean out my desk,” he explained, scratching his neck.

Yui hopped onto the desk in front of his, her legs dangling over the edge, and watched him take out the last of his folders. The surprise on his face had melted once again, giving way to the same melancholy she had seen when she had arrived. She frowned.

“Sawamura, are you thinking about the Inter-High?” she asked straight out, and didn’t even hesitate when she saw him stiffen. Perhaps it was presumptuous of her, bringing this up with a boy who had advised her all through their middle school days as captain, but she felt she needed to return the favor. “You’re going to play in high school, right?” she demanded, and knew she would never accept a  _no._

“Yeah…” he assured her, but he cupped his neck and grinned sheepishly at her, and that wasn’t good enough.

“Say it with more confidence,” she huffed, sitting up straighter. “Say it like, ‘In high school, I’m going to  _win!’”_

But he scrunched his nose, looking away. “Well, I never go into a match planning on losing, of course. So you don’t need to worry, Michimiya.”

It wasn’t good enough – not by a long shot. Not when this was the boy who had lectured her on occasion, who had given her the scoldings she needed, who had encouraged her when no one else had. She would return the favor, she decided, as she slid off the desk with purpose.

Daichi startled when she suddenly clapped his cheeks with her hands, taking him into her hold and bringing his face to hers. He looked at her with wide, unblinking eyes, and he saw clearly the resolve burning in hers.

“Sawamura, I’ve already planned for both of us to be captains together again in high school,” she declared, and had the satisfaction of seeing his dumbfounded face squished between her hands. “So you better shape up, okay! What happened to the captain who told me, ‘even if we’re not confident, we must never tell ourselves that?’”

“He… lost at the Inter-High,” Daichi mumbled glumly, turning his eyes away.

Yui yanked him forward, forcefully bringing his gaze back to hers, and insisted, “So he’ll win the next one! As long as you never give up, there’s always a shot.  _Right?”_

“…Right,” he slowly relented, soaking in her words.

“In high school you’ll build a team so strong everyone will know of your greatness!” she proclaimed, curtly nodding her head. “So you keep your chin up until then, you hear?”

His grin stretched across his lips slowly, but surely, until he was grinning that crooked grin that always melted her heart. “Yeah. Thanks, Michimiya.”

“As captains, we have to have each other’s backs,” she said in reply, then smiled.

Bringing his face to hers, she pressed a light kiss to his forehead for good luck.

* * *

 

**yui kissing daichi's bruise after the match**

He chuckled at the concentration on her face, at the careful way she smeared the yellow cream all over her fingers, then screwed the cap shut with care, set aside the tube, and turned to him with determination gleaming in her eyes.

“You really don’t have to worry so much,” he assured her, hands on his knees, grinning bashfully. “It’s really not as bad as it looks.”

She scooted closer, minding that her dress didn’t rumple, and huffed, “Oh, just let me, Sawamura. It’s not going to hurt you and it’ll make me feel better.”

He shrugged, amused by her worry, and let her scoot even closer, until their thighs pressed together. They were in an isolated section of the stadium’s courtyard, but still he looked around to check whether anyone would see Michimiya scooching in so close and leaning into his face. She gripped the team jacket he had thrown over his uniform to steady herself, and then her fingers delicately ran down the side of his bruise.

Daichi counted each of her lashes, followed the slope of her nose, took in the way her lips had puckered with focus. He resisted the urge to swipe her bangs off her face.

She was gentle, wary of hurting him even though he had reassured her again and again that he was fine, rubbing bruise cream over his injury and taking care to cover every inch with slow, subtle strokes.

“Shimizu told me this cream works really well,” she made conversation, smiling up at him. His hand twitched, just barely catching itself before he reached over to hold her hips. “She said the bruise should be gone in just a few days!”

“You really didn’t have to do this,” he insisted once again, with a low chuckle.

Yui didn’t respond, though he felt sheepish when she stuck out her lip in what was clearly a sign of stubborn resolve. “…I’m glad you’re okay,” she said after a moment, her voice soft. Her fingers paused halfway down his face, touching his skin with only a featherlight touch. “I was worried. And I know you said not to be! A bunch of times! But still…” She hesitated, gnawed thoughtfully on her lip, then smiled a small smile of relief. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

This time he did swipe the bangs from her face, tucking them behind her ear so he could see her smile and the way her eyes glistened more clearly. “Thanks for worrying.”

She beamed in return, carefully rubbing the cream over his injury once again, and didn’t comment when he didn’t pull his hand away.

“Mmkay, all done,” she announced cheerfully, peeling herself away.

But Daichi held her close, hitching her forward to collide with his chest for a one-armed hug, and murmured against her ear, “Thanks, Michimiya.”

She giggled at the unexpected embrace, red-faced and warm, her arms coming to rest on his shoulders as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.

“I’m  _really_ glad you’re okay,” she breathed, and, not minding the cream at all, she pressed a delicate kiss over the black and blue skin of his face.

Daichi just held her tighter.

* * *

 

**smoochies in the rain**

Finding a sopping wet Michimiya huddling under a store roof and anxiously wringing water out of her skirt had not been on his agenda for the day, but Daichi veered off his path without a moment of pause, clutching his umbrella more tightly in his hand.

“Sawamura?” She noticed him with wide, surprised eyes, quickly patting her skirt back over her legs. But it did not draw his gaze away from the water dripping down her calves, dampening her socks.

She jumped when he suddenly slid off his school blazer and dropped it over her shoulders, but her weak protests and insistence that she was fine trailed off at the stern set to his jaw.

“You didn’t bring an umbrella?” he asked, and his disapproval was clear on his face – in his slanted lips and his hard eyes.

“Well…” She averted her eyes, embarrassed to be found in such a state and having to be lectured by Sawamura. “Aya lost her umbrella, and she had a date and didn’t want her hair to get ruined, so…”

“And you didn’t think about yourself?” he scolded, but it was obvious he had softened, his eyes warming. She was as kind as ever.

He didn’t say a word, but he tugged her hand and brought her under his umbrella, sheltering her from the rain even as they stood underneath it. She looked right at his chest, then glanced away, cheeks turning red.

“I was going to share with Kanako!” she insisted, closing the ends of his blazer around herself, to blanket herself in his warmth. “But she had to pick up her little brother and I didn’t want to bother her.”

They started down the path, this time together, and a spring seemed to have returned to Yui’s step now that she was warm and relatively safe from the rain. Daichi listened to her prattle on about how practice had let out early because none of the girls had shown up, laughing softly when she stuck out her lip in a blatant pout.

“I’m so jealous of  _your_ team!” she wailed, batting his arm. “They actually show up for practice and they listen to what you say and they even–”

Suddenly a gust of wind swept past them, not even as strong as the ones they had been facing, but it caught the umbrella at a wrong angle and Daichi, who was busy watching Yui’s eyelashes flutter during her rant, lost his grip.

Yui squeaked when their covering was whipped off their heads and water slammed onto them at full-force, instinctively sheltering herself under Daichi’s bulky sweater.

“My bad,” Daichi apologized, clapping his hands together as he rushed after it. He dropped his bag where he stood, but Yui scooped it into her arms for him as she followed.

Another gust of wind blew past them, and Daichi missed the umbrella by just a brush of his fingers before it was blown away again. Yui giggled as she followed him, not minding the way her hair stuck to her face now, sopping wet from the rain.

“Daichi, you can’t let an umbrella beat you!” she laughed, trying her best to keep up.

He huffed, making a show of rolling up his sleeves and broadening his chest, and grinned when it only made Yui giggle that much more. Neither of them paid much attention to the rain, even though it had also dampened Daichi from head to toe.

“Just watch me,” he declared, and jumped for it as it blew past him, wrestling it to the ground before it could once again make its escape. Still struggling against the wind, he held it with a death grip so tight the veins of his forearm popped.

Yui was still giggling when he returned to her, attempting to smother her laughter behind her hand but failing miserably.

“You won!” she cheered, hopping in her excitement as she clutched their bags to her chest, and laughed gleefully in the downpour. The rain caused her hair to stick to her face in messy ways, raindrops to fall from her eyelashes, her eyes to glisten through the dreariness of the day.

She was beautiful, and Daichi didn’t dare turn his eyes away.

“Here,” he offered, stepping closer, and when he leaned in to cover her with the umbrella, he stole a quick kiss off her blue lips.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a personal headcanon i wanted to share since it showed up in "yui kissing daichi's bruise after the match," but i really, _really_ love the idea that after seeing his bruised face, yui _always_ carries bruise cream with her no matter what. even before they are a couple, even. she's just so worried about daichi c:


	12. We Keep This Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Distance only makes the heart grow fonder. No matter how much she might try to pretend otherwise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> daiyui apart for college *clutches chest*
> 
> recommended listening: _photograph_ by ed sheeran. i listened to it on repeat while writing, and i think i died a little inside.

Yui sees a flash of raven hair and a crooked smile somewhere in the crowd — a rough fringe over a forehead, the light undercut at the nape of a neck, the slight up turn of a hard mouth — and thinks of her high school crush.

“He’s cute, isn’t he?” Kanako drawls at her side, startling her into a jump.

“He… he is,” she agrees weakly, wondering if the burn of her face had translated into the color red on her cheeks. She’s never been good at hiding emotions and her best friend’s been able to read her face like a book for as long as she can remember — a deadly combination.

Kanako looks between them, at the boy immersed in the crowd and at Yui staring determinedly at her shoes, and her grin takes on a playful edge.

“Doesn’t he kind of remind you of Sawamura?”

Yui won’t give her the satisfaction. She sees the beginnings of a smirk and the glint in Kanako’s eyes, and absolutely _refuses_  to give her friend fodder for her teasing. Standing tall, she blatantly looks the boy up and down, and muses, “Huh. He does!”

“Not as handsome, though,” Kanako is quick to add, looking at her pointedly. She looks more amused by her friend’s show more than anything else.

Yui falters. “No… not as handsome.”

“Aha! So you admit Sawamura is  _handsome,_  is he?”

“Kanako!” she whines, shoving her friend in the midst of her snickers. Even she can’t resist a fond smile. “It’s been months now. Let it go. I mean, we never even… I never told him…”

“Well, that’s your own fault, isn’t it? We gave you so many shoves, me and Aya,” Kanako scoffs. “Even encouraged you to go running after him, catch him before he got on that train and left permanently for college.”

“It… wouldn’t have worked,” she insists. “Long distance is hard. Or so I’ve heard.”

“Unbelievable.” The blonde rolls her eyes, tipping her drink into her mouth. Yui hears the ice-cubes clacking against her teeth and looks down at her own drink, much too watered down now to be appealing. “You spend  _years_ hopelessly pining and pulling the dumbest shit to get his attention, then choose your last chance to start thinking rationally.”

“You said it was all romantic, not dumb!” Yui squawks.

“And a fat load of good that did you, huh?” Kanako narrows her eyes, unimpressed. “Didn’t even get his number.”

“It was… just a silly high school crush,” Yui insists, huffing as she returns to staring down at her shoes. She taps her toes together, chewing on her lip.

“Then prove it.” She feels a hard nudge to her side, and follows the jut of Kanako’s chin. Brown eyes immediately flit away when hers make contact. “Sawamura 2.0 is making eyes at you. Go chat him up. Don’t make the same mistakes from high school.”

Yui quietly traces the edge of her cup, and thinks of a boy with calloused knuckles and bruises on his arms and permanent wrinkles splayed across his forehead. She thinks of hands infinitely bigger than hers, and a back so sturdy she had often dreamed of laying her head to rest against it. A back that had only ever been two paces ahead of her.

“You know what.” She hardens her jaw, stepping forward much to Kanako’s surprise. “I’m gonna go flirt the  _heck_ out of him.”

For a single instant, that back she’d always been trying so hard to catch vanishes.

.

An hour later finds her on her way back to the dormitory, and Kanako at her side huffs, “You should have gone home with him.”

“After what I did?” she wails, temporarily pulling her face out of her hands. The scarlet on her cheeks speaks of her mortification. “I spilled my drink  _all over_ him!”

Kanako shrugs. “He didn’t seem to mind all that much. Bet he would have let you help him take off his wet shirt.”

Yui shoves her, groaning loudly into her hands. It only makes the blonde snicker, fists buried in the pockets of her coat.

“You never change, do you, Yui? A human disaster, even in college.” Yui groans horridly in reply, and she laughs again, watching it disappear into the air as fog. “But still. Tonight you took a step towards forgetting Sawamura. Finally. So that’s something.”

Yui never pulls her face out of her hands, just as she never tells Kanako that she’d looked into brown eyes and only thought of a familiar, steely gaze. She’d brushed her fingertips against knuckles and thought of ones hardened from volleyball. She’d joined in with smooth laughter and had thought of a low, soothing chuckle that always seemed to blanket her in a way.

“Yeah…” she agrees softly, and wonders if Sawamura was looking up at the same night sky as her right now.

.

The light chill in the air slowly brings winter to town, and soon, with school shut down for holidays, Yui returns home to her childhood home and her waiting parents, everything just as she remembers.

“I’ve missed you,” her mother sniffs into her shoulder, and Yui sheepishly scratches the back of her head.

“Okaa-san, I only live a half hour drive away.”

She’s not like Sawamura. She can’t hop on a train and delve into the big, scary city on her own, leaving behind the simple life in the countryside. She needs the familiarity, needs to know that people she loves and people who love  _her_ live within reach; she can’t stand the loneliness otherwise. And goodbyes have never been her thing.

Her old teachers welcome her back with open arms and the vendors at the local stores all remember her, and Yui is  _beaming_ as she plucks a pack of hot chocolate from the grocery store shelf.

Behind her, Kanako rolls her eyes. “We’ve been gone a few months, not a few years.”

“It’s still nice to be remembered,” Yui laughs, tossing the hot chocolate into their basket and rushing ahead to find marshmallows. “Do you think Aya is on the train by now? Should we go surprise her at the station? Oh, but we don’t want to steal her parents’ thunder, do we?  _Oh,_ but I’m just so excited to see her again —  _oof!”_

She rounds the corner, and in her excitement she doesn’t quite watch her step until she collides hard with a firm chest and almost goes toppling to the floor. A squeak bubbles past her lips just as steady hands grip her hips to right her again, thankfully just in time.

She flushes, embarrassed by her clumsiness, and stutters, “O-Oh, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was—”

Soft, steely eyes stare back at her, widened in surprise, and the hands on her hips squeeze her just a little too tight. Yui doesn’t notice.

“Sawamura?” she gasps, and mirrors his expression, blinking rapidly. Vaguely, she registers Kanako’s hum of shock from somewhere behind her, but she doesn’t really notice that either.

Sawamura’s here and he’s so close and he’s gotten more handsome.

“Ah!” As if only just remembering his hands, he rips them away, and one finds the back of his neck. “Michimiya! This is a surprise.”

His voice is just as deep as she remembers  — as smooth and as steady, like it wraps up every inch of her.

“Yeah, I… didn’t expect to see you…” she says, a little breathless, never tearing her eyes away. “Are you in town for the break?”

“Only for a week or so. Our break’s not so long.”

“Oh…” She tries not to sound disappointed. It’s not as if she’d expected the run-in, or expected that he’d be around for her to see at all. She has no reason to be disheartened when she’d had no hope to begin with. It’s absurd, then, that she is. “W-Well, it was, um, nice seeing you!”

“Oh, are you…?” he asks quickly, awkwardly clearing his throat. Yui wonders what it means when he flits his gaze away — like the boy at the party. “You’re leaving? I didn’t realize you were in a rush.”

“It’s just that Kanako’s with me” — both of them spare the blonde a quick glance, who’s doing the tactful thing and pretending to be more fascinated by the tea labels than one person has any business being — “and I don’t want to be rude and keep her waiting, you know? Plus my parents are expecting the groceries. And a friend is coming into town soon so I want to go meet her — Aya!” she blurts out. “You remember Aya, right?”

“Kind of.” He rapidly looks over his shoulder, lips slanting. “Don’t go just yet. I-I mean, Suga is here. I’m sure he’d like to see you?”

She straightens, face perking at another unexpected encounter, and this time one that won’t squeeze her heart so tightly. “Yeah! I’d  _love_ to see him!”

With Sugawara it’s infinitely easier. He hasn’t even been given a moment to be properly shocked by her sudden appearance in the bakery aisle before she bounds into him for a hug, laughing into his ear. She launches into a barrage of “how are you?”s and “I’m so happy to see you!”s, while both Kanako and Sawamura look on. This is nice, Yui thinks. This is how meeting old friends should be. Everything is just so different — strange,  _jaded,_ like a fire in her belly — when it’s an old crush.

“It was nice seeing you,” she tells him fondly, and with a lot more fidgeting, she catches Sawamura’s eyes and adds, “And you, too, Sawamura.”

He smiles crookedly in reply, and it’s really not fair, she thinks, that her heart would melt like she was still a giddy high school girl.

“Wow, Yui, you managed not to hyperventilate,” Kanako drawls, when they’ve broken away from the boys and finally gotten in line at the check out. She claps once, her face blank. “Congrats.”

Yui doesn’t whine about the teasing, or bump Kanako’s shoulder, or even groan into her hands again. Instead she takes her lip into her mouth and rubs her arm, and mumbles, “He looks good.”

“How would Sawamura 2.0 feel if he knew you were cheating on him?”

Her attempt at a crude look only makes Kanako giggle as they move up to the counter, splaying their groceries before the employee, and it’s only then that, out of the corner of her eye, Yui notices the two boys suddenly tumble out of a nearby aisle. Wrestling, almost, by the looks of it; Suga drags a reluctant Sawamura by the collar as he pulls himself back, and she overhears some manic whispering by accident.

“Just  _ask_ her,” she hears Suga hiss, and just before she can turn back to the counter and pretend she hadn’t been eavesdropping, they both glance her way.

Sawamura’s hand immediately finds the back of his neck, like it had when they had first bumped into each other. She recognizes the gesture; it’s a nervous habit of his, and also a most endearing one, that means he’s nervous. Though he rarely ever is. He glances at her pointedly.

“I’ll be back?” she says to Kanako, skirting around her friend with sweaty palms she rubs on her jeans on the way over.

Sawamura gruffly clears his throat, glaring at Suga as he makes himself scarce with an innocent smile. “Hey, Michimiya. Before you go. Uh. Can I—”

“Can I have your number?” she blurts out. She just can’t help herself.

His eyes pop for a bit, in his surprise. “Wh — yeah, of course!” He fumbles, digging through his pockets for something to write with and something to write  _on._  It takes a few tries before he manages to procure a pen and a napkin he assures her is unused. “Me t — I mean, that’s also what I…”

“It’d be nice,” she chimes in, grinning. “To be able to catch up. Right?”

“Right,” he agrees, returning her smile, and rips off the half of the napkin on which he had messily scrawled his number. On the other half, she writes her own for him to keep. “And let’s catch up for real some time, okay? During the break?”

“Y-Yeah!” She beams, carefully folding his number to keep in a safe place, then salutes him in a grand motion that makes him chuckle. She feels positively  _giddy._ “Definitely!”

Kanako ushers her out the store with low grumblings about rude store clerks, poking her in the side when she keeps rising on her tip-toes to catch one last glimpse, even if it’s just of that broad back she’s always yearned to catch up to. They miss one another, but that’s okay, she decides, holding his number to her mouth and giggling.

In the end, they don’t manage to see each other again after all.

.

The phone doesn’t ring for days.

Time passes, so much that Sawamura leaves for college and even Yui returns to her dormitory, and Kanako catches her throwing longing looks at her phone every time she opens a new message to find that it’s not from him.

“Text him first,” she suggests one evening, around a mouthful of ramen. “Ask him if he knows the average length of a giraffe’s neck. You love giraffes.”

“I do,” Yui agrees, poutily stuffing her chopsticks into her mouth. “But that’s not fair to him. I don’t think that’s common knowledge.”

“Yui, what’s the average length of a giraffe’s neck?”

“A hundred and eighty centimeters,” she responds immediately.

“See?” Kanako waves her chopsticks about, as if that proves everything. “If he doesn’t even know  _that_ much, he’s clearly not your soulmate.”

“But I love volleyball, too,” she points out. “And I bet if I asked, Sawamura could tell me all the stats of every player on the national team.”

Kanako shrugs, digging back into her food. “Ask him that, then.”

She doesn’t, though. Her fingers twitch towards the phone several times during the evening, but instead she bites her thumb and chickens out. Her friend throws her narrowed, disapproving glares as they clean up their mess, even when she offers to toss out the garbage bags, which Kanako _hates_  to do. She returns from the long trek to find her already slipping into bed, only the single light of Yui’s lamp lighting up their dormitory.

Yui sighs, shrugging out of her hastily adorned jacket and preparing for bed herself, eyelids feeling heavy from the wonders of a full belly and the stress of liking a boy who lived miles and miles away.

Not long into the night, the flashing light of her phone disrupts the pitch darkness of their room.

Yui considers ignoring it. She glances at the bed at the opposite wall, watches Kanako’s frame rise and fall with her even breathing, and doesn’t want to disturb. But she’s always let curiosity win and she  _loves_ the thrill of unexpected, late night calls, so it’s no wonder she can’t resist when she plucks her phone from the dresser.

_Sawamura._

She almost shoots out of bed. The smiling face of an adorable cartoon panda stares back at her; she hadn’t had any pictures of Sawamura to use, so instead she’d used the biggest and most cuddliest animal she could think of — only fitting for Sawamura.

Back pressed to her headboard, knees curled to her chest, she takes the call.

There’s only soft breathing at first. She hears the steady rhythm, much more controlled than her own. Then she breaks it with a whisper.

“Hello?”

“…Michimiya?”

She sucks in her breath. Her toes feel strange and tingly, even when she curls them under the blanket. He has a warm voice, low and soothing. She thinks of the hot cocoa she had drank over break, of the gooey marshmallows she had saved for last that had left her feeling fuzzy and drunk on happiness for hours after. If she was asked to describe it, that was Sawamura’s voice.

“Hey.” She puts her chin on her knees, clutches the phone a little more tightly, and whispers, “How are you?”

“I’m… good. Is this a bad time?”

She glances quickly at Kanako, then shakes her head even though he wouldn’t see it. “No, it’s fine. Kanako’s asleep already since we have early morning practice, so I just don’t want to wake her.”

“If you need to sleep,” he rushes to say, “I can call some other time—”

“N-No!” she squeaks, cupping a hand over her mouth. “I-I want to talk to you.”

There’s silence on his end. Yui’s toes curl even further, as if embarrassed on her behalf that she had dared to be so bold. Then he mumbles, his voice soft, “Okay. if you’re sure.”

“I’m sure. What did you want to talk about?”

“O-Oh. Uh. Well, I didn’t really have anything to talk  _about,”_  he tells her awkwardly. “I just… wanted to talk.”

She hums, wondering if she’s allowed to feel heat on her cheeks or if it’s just her being too hopeful. “Okay. Let’s talk, then. How are you, Sawamura?”

“Busy. It’s why I didn’t call earlier.”

“Don’t you have morning practice, too?”

“Cancelled. The basketball team tried to play a prank on their captain and flooded the whole gym.” She hears the sternness in his voice, the disapproval at complete disregard for rules and maybe at the captain for not properly reigning in his team, and it almost makes her giggle. He hasn’t changed much in many ways. “Sorry… we couldn’t meet up during the break, Michimiya,” he adds, sounding genuinely regretful.

“Don’t be sorry,” she tells him. “I saw Sugawara one more time, you know. He told me you were really busy with your family.”

“But still, I. Wanted to. See you, I mean.”

She buries her face in her knees and hopes her voice doesn’t come out too muffled, too shrill, too  _giddy,_ as she mumbles, “I wanted to see you, too.”

“Then maybe next time?” he suggests.

She laughs, almost teasingly. “Sawamura, that’s months from now. Are you sure you’ll even still want to see me then?”

His answer comes immediately. “Absolutely.”

A thrill runs down her spine. Sawamura’s thrilled her many, many times before — the way he stands on a court, the way he smiles fondly even as she rambles about nonsensical things, the way his eyebrows furrow when he’s  _deeply_ thinking about something and she wonders how it might feel to kiss the wrinkles away — but this time feels different. There’s a little bud of hope. A little part of her hopes this means something.

“Then it’s a date,” she dares to say, squeezing her eyes shut and just barely containing the urge to press her face into her pillow and scream for days.

There’s a beat of silence, then—

“A date,” he promises.

.

Yui finds her next bout of courage after morning practice. Kanako’s rushed on ahead, hoping not to be late to her class on the other side of campus, and as Yui strolls leisurely to class it hits her that this moment would be perfect only if she could hear Sawamura’s voice over the phone.

“Hey,” he says a little breathlessly, after the sixth ring. “Sorry. I was just taking a shower.”

Yui wonders why, when she’d just taken one herself, she suddenly feels like she needs a shower too.

“So what’s up?”

She swallows. “Nothing. Just, um, thought I would ask how your day is going.”

“It hasn’t really started yet,” he chuckles. “But I think it’ll be a good one now that I got to hear your voice.”

Sometimes she wonders if he  _knows_ what he does to her and still he does this on purpose.

 _“Gosh,_ Sawamura!” she laughs, a little shrilly, but easily passable. “You’re such a smooth operator.”

“Ah. Sorry. Did I accidentally win your heart?”

“It was always yours, good sir! I wait for the day you come to collect.”

“Then worry not, fair maiden. I shall be there in a fortnight.”

She has to clap a hand over her mouth to smother her laughter, and still most of it slips through the cracks, echoing among the trees around her. “You’re so uncool.”

_“What about you?”_

This time the laughter bursts forth, until she hears him join in too.

When it dies down, she smiles up at the sky — cloudy and grey and somehow still _so,_ so bright. “It was nice talking like this,” she tells him, genuine. Then she glances at her watch, her blood running cold, and adds, “Even if I  _am_ late to class.”

He clicks his tongue. “Well, normally I would lecture you. But… seeing as I’m part of the reason, I suppose I can let you off the hook. Just this once.”

She smiles. “You always did mollycoddle me.”

“You’re someone that’s hard to displease.”

He could never displease her, she wants to tell him. Not even if he tried. Instead she bids him goodbye, breaking into a run to hustle for class, and hopes Sawamura would always be around to let her off the hook.

.

Kanako calls her simple-minded.

“The guy lives in Tokyo,” she says pointedly, tapping the top of Yui’s head with a pencil. “That’s almost a three-hour drive. Can you really call any of this serious?”

“Kanako, you’re always so quick to look at the bad side of things,” Yui whines, dropping her cheek on her textbook. She breathes out once, and her bangs blow out of her face before fluttering back onto her forehead.

She and Sawamura have fallen into a routine almost. He calls her, then she calls him. Usually they’re hurried calls, snatches of conversations held between switching class or before slipping into sleep. She doesn’t care how short they are; they’re special, familiar. Sawamura is familiar.

Kanako shakes her head. “I don’t want to hurt you or anything, Yui. But look at it realistically. You don’t know what he’s doing there. He could have a girl he likes.”

“He promised to go on a date with me.”

“As a  _joke.”_ Kanako purses her lips, looking down at her sympathetically. “You can’t call it a relationship if you only talk on the phone once a week.”

Perhaps something in her wants to prove her friend wrong, as she dials up Sawamura’s number for the second time that week, nervously biting down on her lip and gnawing the skin there at each ring.

He’s clearly not expecting her; she’s broken routine after all. His surprised voice speaks only slightly louder than all the noise in the back. “Michimiya?”

“Sorry, is… this a bad time?” she asks, feeling her hopes dampen a bit.

“Not  _too,_ too bad. I’m with a study group.”

“Oh.” She deflates, sinking onto her bed stomach-down and curling her legs in the air. “Sorry to bother you, then.”

“Wh — wait, no,” he hurries to say, and the background noise muffles. “I was due for a break anyway. Let’s… let’s talk. I mean, there’s no rule that says we can only talk once a week, right?”

“Right,” she agrees brightly, perking up. Her legs start to kick, hooked at the ankles. “So what are you studying?”

It’s so easy to let his voice consume her, to rest her chin on her pillow and listen to him explain about chemical equations and logarithms and things that generally make her head spin, but only make her head feel fuzzy coming from him. It reminds her of middle school days of animated volleyball talks, days when she could see him every day, days when her heart raced for Sawamura for the very first time.

Only minutes into their call, she hears it — and it makes her heart  _stop._

A giggle.

A shrill one. A soft one. Maybe even a flirtatious one. It lasts for only a second, before disappearing into the background noise like everything else, yet still Yui hears it ring in her ears. Kanako’s words come to her.

She swallows. “Listen, Sawamura?” He breaks off. “I have to go.”

“Oh.” She must be imagining the disappointment, she thinks. He doesn’t need her; he’s got a whole study group, he’s got someone who can giggle like they’re made of sunshine and marshmallows and daffodils.

“I’ll call you again soon?” he requests.

“Yeah. Sure. Whatever.”

She ends the call abruptly, pressing down on the red button before he’s barely said his goodbyes, and then buries her face in her pillow. Her legs have stopped kicking. Her heart seems to have stopped beating. And that giggle still echoes in her ears even from a three-hour drive away.

“He could have a girl he likes,” she repeats to herself, murmured against her pillow, and shuts her eyes.

.

As he’d promised, Sawamura calls by the end of the week.

Minutes into the pleasantries, before she’s even had a chance to stop the Sawamura-induced tremble of her fingers, he asks her, “Did I do something wrong?”

“N-No!” she hastens to assure him, shocked. “No, of course not! Why would you think…”

“Well, you seemed a little off during our last phone call. I just wondered if… I did something stupid?”

“No, Sawamura,” she assures him, breathless, absentmindedly tracing the pattern of her dress on her lap. “It wasn’t anything you did. I promise. You’re great. I-I mean, you’re…  _great._ I-I just —” She swallows, rough and lumpy.

His voice sounds low with anticipation. “You what, Michimiya?”

She thinks of that giggle, of pretty, red lips attached to it, of painted fingernails on Sawamura’s arm, of the sweet scent of perfume pushing thoughts of studies out of minds. Her chin trembles.

“I want to see you,” she blurts out, bunching up her dress and gripping it tight.

“We only have a couple months until —”

 _“No,”_  she insists, and sounds almost bratty to her own ears. But she can’t seem to stop. “I want to see you  _now._ I wish you weren’t so far away.”

She needs to see those steady shoulders, that broad chest, a firm jaw, warm eyes. Somehow they’ve always had some magic to make her feel like she’s  _okay._ And right now she feels anything but okay.

“I wish I could see you,” she murmurs, and for the first time, Sawamura doesn’t seem to know what to say.

.

At the first sight of Sawamura’s face — the same wrinkles across his forehead, the crooked, if not slightly bashful grin, and as something new, the light stubble running down his jaw — Yui truly feels at  _peace._

Video calls had been his idea, an almost desperate solution to the sadness in her voice. Yui resists the urge to comb her fingers through her hair, even though seconds before the call she had done just that, with Kanako rolling her eyes behind her.

“You look… good,” he stutters out, awkward. His hand scratches the back of his neck in his habit. Same old Sawamura. It almost makes her giggle, before she remembers that giggles have been heavy on her heart these days.

“And you look handsome!” she cheeps, so  _happy_  that she can’t even be embarrassed.

“Ah. You’re just saying that. I didn’t even have a chance to shave this morning.”

 _“Yeesh,_ Sawamura,” Kanako drawls from her side of the room, not looking up from her book. “Couldn’t even clean yourself up for the lady?”

Yui chucks her pillow at her, making Sawamura burst out into laughter, and she returns her attention to him, flushing. Grumbling to herself, Kanako picks up the book that had been knocked out of her hand and crisply turns the page.

“She has a point,” he chuckles.

“Oh, don’t listen to her,” Yui huffs. “She just loves riling people up. You look fine.”

“Just fine?” His grin widens, almost teasingly by the way it quirks at one end. “I’ll try to bring my A game next time.”

“Sawamura! Stop twisting my words!” she wails, batting at the screen like she would have his arm if he’d been near.

It’s not the best thing, talking from still so far away, only pretending there’s not what seems like an impossible distance between them. But, for now, it’s enough.

.

Sawamura becomes a fixed presence in her nights.

When it’s late — so late that Kanako’s breathing has evened out and the wind has picked up and the streets have quieted — she curls up in her blankets and holds hushed conversation with the boy so far, far away. They make her toes curl each time, and it’s not until much later that she realizes he makes her giggle again too.

She learns of his life, of his classes and his teachers and his friends. That giggle she’d heard had been his roommate’s girlfriend.

He learns of her life too, so fascinated that he asks questions about everything, sometimes making her flush pink from the intensity with which he listens to her, pays  _attention_ to her.

“Sorry I’m so boring,” she whispers once, twisting her bangs round one finger.

“You’re not.” He shakes his head. “You’re fascinating.”

.

Tonight feels different. Somehow.

There’s a fire in her belly, almost from the get go. Normally it builds, steadily fueled by every sweet thing Sawamura says to her, until she’s burning up by the time they have to say farewell.

Tonight his face shows up on her screen, and he whispers “one more week,” and her stomach  _scorches._

“One more week,” she repeats quietly, thinking of the long drive home ahead.

“Stay safe,” he lectures her.

“I will.”

“Don’t speed.”

“I won’t.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

She smiles, running her finger over the keyboard keys. “See you soon.”

They fall silent, and again, it feels  _different._ Normally they’re comfortable. Everything between them has gotten easier, more fluid, like they’ve fallen back into old high school routines. Most days they’ll fall silent, and then she’ll laugh at a sudden memory he’ll ask her to share, and they’re right back into conversation.

Tonight, the silence lingers.

It fills the room, as small as the room is. Heavy. Condensed. Waiting to pop.

Only one week and three hours left between them.

It’s Sawamura who bursts the quiet. He looks up from his hands to catch her eyes, and she hears when his breath hitches in his throat. Then—

“…I miss you.”

Her breath catches too. She sees it so clearly in his gaze: the  _longing._ The same kind tugging on her stomach, lighting a fire there, making it hard for her to breathe.

She misses him, too.  _Desperately. So_ desperately. She misses him. She misses him, she misses him, she misses him. But it’s more than that. It’s more than late-night video calls and three-hour train rides and a week of agony as they wait for the distance to close. She—

“I like you,” she breathes out, the words coiling experimentally around her tongue. He falters, eyes rounding much like his mouth,struck dumb by the sudden confession. And still Yui doesn’t stop there. “I like you.” She states it clearly, even as her expression flickers. “I like you. I like you. I like you I like you I like you I like you I like you I like you I like you I—”

“M-Michimya, wh—”

She abruptly ends the call, shutting her laptop and shoving it to the end of the bed, denying him the choice of calling her again. She doesn’t need to hear the answer.

The fire in her tummy is gone. Her toes have uncurled. And she’s just spoiled _everything._

.

Her laptop stays firmly tucked away in her desk drawer for the remainder of the week, and any time Sawamura’s number flashes on her phone, she pretends she doesn’t see.

“You’re being ridiculous,” Kanako scolds her, halfway through packing. “Talk to him, would you?”

“I already know what he’s going to say,” Yui sniffs, folding her favorite sundress to put in her suitcase  _—_  a bright yellow color to hide how dreary she feels on the inside. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“So you’re just going to leave him hanging? And what if he doesn’t say what you think he will?”

“I’m sure he doesn’t really want to talk to me either,” is all she says instead. “He’s just being responsible, doing the right thing. Sawamura’s like that. He’s kind.”

Kanako throws her disapproving looks on the drive home, ones that make Yui almost shrivel, but she refuses to pick up the call that’s no doubt placed from inside a bullet train heading to Miyagi. After that, her phone doesn’t ring again.

This is the problem, she tells herself, with long distance. Even if she’d had a chance, it never would have worked. She tells herself.

.

Two days into break, Sawamura shows up at her door.

After months — of longing, of  _pining —_ he’s here, before her, real and in the flesh and close enough to touch. But she doesn’t.

Lingering in the doorway, she bites her lip. “Sawamura…”

He smiles a bit sheepishly, and it’s all wrong. She’d expected a lecture, a scolding, maybe a severance of their friendship. Not this shy tilt to his head and awkwardness in his gaze, despite how steadily he presents himself before her. She eyes the sharp, pressed clothes and the white roses in his hands, confused.

“Michimiya,” he begins, clearing his throat, “I’m here for our date.”

She blinks. “Date? You still… want to?”

“We promised, didn’t we? Besides, you decided to be difficult and not give me the chance to tell you.” He shuffles his weight from one foot to the other. “This is me, bringing my A game, to tell you that I like you, too.”

That slanted grin of his contrasts the shocked rounding of her mouth.

Stepping forward, pressing the flowers in her hands, he pleads, “Please accept me.”

His fingertips brush against hers and he doesn’t pull away.

Yui looks between him and the roses, feeling like her brain’s tripping up all over itself, unable to form one coherent string of thought. “I-I… o-of cour… I mean,  _y-yes…”_

“Let’s make the most of this time together, hm?” he suggests, drawing soothing circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. His smile stays steady, poised, but Yui spies the flash of red on the tips of his ears and almost  _melts._

“Let me… go change?” she squeaks, already turning to go. But he pulls her back.

“Don’t. You look really pretty in that sundress.”

Her face burns, a deep, noisy scarlet spreading across her face so unlike the way he hides his shyness in his ears. Her fingertips brush his back.

“It’s my favorite,” she tells him, then leans in to sniff the roses.

.

People will ask her how she handles it, having a lover who lives so far away, a lover she can only meet once or twice a year at most.

Holding hands and kissing and sinking into his chest — these things have a time limit in their relationship. Each time they part, they know they’re putting just as much time between them as they are distance.

Sawamura can’t hold her on rainy nights, on nights when she’s spooked, on nights when she’s lonely. Yui can’t hold him on nights when he’s stressed, on nights when he’s exhausted, on nights when he longs for her. They build their love through two computer screens.

But then there are those moments: breaks from college, when suddenly they’re joined at the hip for weeks on end, like filling up on love to make up for the separation. They’ll hold hands, and she’ll lean into his strong chest, and on days when they’re feeling bold, they’ll even sneak a kiss.

People will ask her how she handles the distance.

“Well,” she tells them cheerily, “I just remember that he’s worth every bit of it!”

.

Out-going message:  _Daichi! Tell me, what’s the average length of a giraffe’s neck?_

In-going message:  _Ah. I saw something about this in a nature documentary the other day. I think it’s one point eight meters?_

Yui smiles.


	13. Eridanus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LOVELY VOLLEYBALL PRINCESS

The vastness of the sky almost floors her. They cut through a cluster of trees, breaking silence with their noisiness, when suddenly they’re surrounded by a sea of black and the stars peek out like pin-pricks in the fabric of the night sky.

 _“Wow,”_  Yui breathes, too enamored to stay quiet. Around her, the volleyball teams, boys and girls alike, laugh softly at her awe.

“It’s pretty!” Hinata whoops somewhere up front, and she spies his orange hair just long enough for him to drop back down from his excited leap.

Amidst her giggles, one hand over her mouth and the other clutching a picnic basket to her knees, she spies warm eyes that catch hers, and her breath catches. Her teeth catch the skin of her bottom lip. Gnawing there, she looks away and instead stares bashfully down at the basket in her hands.

Kanako bumps her shoulder. “What’re you being all shy for?” she scoffs. “If you wanna go be with your boyfriend, then go be with him.”

 _“D-Don’t—”_  she squeaks, a single hand flailing. She can feel how her cheeks blaze.  _“Don’t call him that!”_

“Why not? That’s what he is.”

“Yeah, but… I haven’t gotten used to it yet,” she shyly admits, twirling a lock of hair round one finger so she won’t have to meet Kanako’s flat stare.

“My god, you two are hopeless,” she sighs, and miraculously, that’s all she says on the matter as she marches on ahead, hands shoved into her hoodie’s pockets.

Yui races after her, struggling to keep up with the group. The picnic basket bangs against her legs, catching the hem of her skirt, and just as she reaches down to unhook the thread, a hand swoops down to beat her to it.

She jumps, meaning to whine at Kanako for startling her, but comes face-to-face with a crooked smile instead.

“Sorry,” Daichi mumbles, looking sheepish as he tugs the skirt away. “Did I scare you?”

“Uh… not at all!” she insists, ears ringing, and for extra measure she even slams a fist against his shoulder. “It takes a lot more than  _that_ to scare  _me,_ you know!”

He chuckles, rubbing at the spot she had punched mercilessly, before swooping down to take the basket from her hand.

“W-Wait, I can—”

“I know you can,” he interrupts, smiling kindly. Switching the basket to his other hand, he plucks her hand from her side and presses his fingers into the spaces between hers, intertwining them together. Holding up their joined palms, his smile widens. “At least let me do this much for my girlfriend, hm?”

She swallows her protests loudly, dutifully following after him and staring straight at how their hands look mingled so tightly together. She catches Kanako’s eyes once, meets her impressed stare, and flashes her a look like she’s inwardly screaming — and she is.

Kanako just sends her a brief thumbs-up before joining Yamaguchi in the quest for the perfect picnic spot.

.

Her friend sidles up to her not much later, when they’re setting up everything they’ve hiked up the trail in as many baskets as they could carry, and tells her, “He was blushing like mad, too, you know.”

“Hm… who?” Yui mumbles absentmindedly, busy unpacking a thermos.

 _“Sawamura.”_  Kanako clicks her tongue impatiently. “His face was all on fire, like, from one ear to the other. When you were  _holding hands,”_ she persists, when Yui doesn’t give her much of a desired reaction.

“He’s cute, isn’t he?” she just sighs dreamily, and when she catches his eye on the other end of the picnic blanket, busy helping Kageyama unwrap their plastic cutlery, they share secret smiles.

There might have been a time when hearing of Sawamura’s blush would have quickened her heart, but now she’s seen it all; the soft one on that fateful confession graduation day, the one like a fire-truck when she’d shown up to their first date in a mini skirt Aya had practically  _forced_ her into, the thrilled one when their hands had brushed for the first time, or even the content, bashful flush of his ears the first time they had kissed time away on her doorstep.

Sawamura Daichi has been her boyfriend for a month now and slowly, slowly, _slowly,_ she’s getting used to the idea of him liking her too.

“Oh, I give up,” Kanako grouses, stalking off to help with another picnic basket. “I’ll never understand how you two think.”

Yui thinks they’re simple. They brush fingers quietly, lean into each other’s shoulders when they’re tired, dare a kiss on those dates they end feeling extra affectionate. And they share secret smiles just like this, she thinks, catching his eyes once again and feeling a thrill run through her. She’ll never get enough of Sawamura’s smile.

“You two aren’t as secretive as you might think,” she suddenly hears, startling her for the second time that night, and Sugawara chuckles amiably as he joins her on the ground.

“I… don’t know what you’re talking about,” she breathes, a hand over her heart.

“If you don’t want the first-years knowing you’re dating just yet, I’d suggest not making puppy eyes at each other all night,” he says instead, a teasing glint in his eyes. “Everything anyone says goes through one of Daichi’s ears and out the next.”

“He’s just… scatterbrained!” she fishes desperately, but the excuse falls flat even to her own ears. He’s never once been anything less than steady. She sighs in defeat. “Well, it’s not that we don’t  _want_ the first-years to know…”

“It’s that you don’t know how to break the news,” he finishes for her, nodding curtly. He knows all this. “I’m just saying, Michimiya, that neither of you really has a knack for being subtle.  _Especially_ when it involves each other.”

She has a vague feeling his smile’s not as innocent as it’s meant to look, and she has to bury her face in her hands until Sugawara’s chuckles die down.

“I guess Daichi’s fool-in-love dopiness isn’t  _all_ bad, though,” he muses. “I mean, here we are, on a nice picnic with the teams. And I have a feeling everything will go well — even with Tanaka and Nishinoya in such close proximity with so many girls.” He nods towards where Kiyoko’s fiercely guarding the girls’ teams first-years from the second-year boys.

Yui pulls her face out of her hands, suddenly confused. “Wait, I thought you thought up this trip?” At his politely bemused look, she explains, “That’s what Sawamura said…”

“Hmm, well, I’m sure Daichi has his reasons for telling you that.” He shrugs, rising to his feet. “But I can tell you it was definitely his idea to come here.”

Frowning to herself, Yui wonders what Sawamura has planned.

.

It’s only several minutes into the picnic when Daichi suddenly pops up behind her, a plate of food in his hands, and loudly clears his throat. Shuffling his feet, eyes trained on the sky, he asks, “May I join you?”

Yui suppresses a grin, hastily moving food and napkins aside to make room, and he instantly takes a seat. Across the blanket, Kanako and Suga share exasperated looks.

“Enjoying yourself?” he asks awkwardly. He can’t seem to stop shifting on the small patch of blanket, as if he can’t decide how close he’s allowed to sit. When his thigh accidentally brushes hers, he turns almost maroon in color before mumbling a hasty “sorry” and finally settling down.

Yui giggles. “Yes, a lot! The sky’s really pretty and the food is really good. And Hinata-kun was just telling me about the time you chased Nishinoya-kun up a tree just to knock his head for goofing off during practice.”

Daichi runs a hand down his pained face, resisting the urge to glare at Hinata, who smiles innocently and had most definitely meant well. “You weren’t there,” he mutters excuses. “It was a rough day all around.”

“I wasn’t accusing you of anything, Sawamura,” she laughs. “In fact, I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.”

“I’ll… take that as a compliment?” he wonders aloud, then hastily shoves a fork full of food into his mouth to cover the embarrassment.

Yui notices the splotch of color on the side of his mouth. “Oh, Sawamura, you’ve got some sauce on you.”

Briskly grabbing a napkin from the nearby pile, she dabs it against her tongue twice before bringing it to his lips, carefully wiping food off his face as he holds specially still. His chin held firmly in her hand, she moves his head this way and that, making sure to get every last drop.

“Whoa,” they hear Hinata whisper to Kageyama, sounding awed. “Being friends with a girl is so much different than being friends with a boy, huh? Would you ever wipe sauce off my face for me?”

“Wipe your own damn sauce,” Kageyama snaps, angrily chomping on his food.

Yui freezes, halfway through bringing Daichi’s face closer to hers, and quickly drops the napkin. They swiftly angle their bodies away, knees pressed together, and burn holes into the picnic basket with their hard stares.

“Um! So! I think I got it!” she tells him, her voice shrill. The fists on her knees tremble.

“Yeah, thanks,” he replies loudly, moving away just a little bit more, until there’s more space between them than there’s ever been.

“J-Juice?” she offers, a little breathless, gesturing wildly in the general direction of the thermos.

“I’d love some.”

“Me, too!” Hinata pipes up, since she’s offering.

“Oh look at that it’s all the way on the other side let me go get it!” she squeaks, then rushes off to bury her face in Kanako’s shoulder.

It’s a good thing Hinata had broken them out of their reverie, she thinks desperately. She had been halfway ready to kiss Sawamura right then and there.

.

Yui doesn’t learn of what Daichi has planned until well a few hours later, when their picnic’s almost reached its end and half their teammates have begun to doze, curled up on the blanket or cuddled up against trees.

Daichi meets her eyes just as she’s finished lovingly pushing Aya’s hair out of her face, and motions with a jerk of his head to follow after him.

“What’s up, Sawamura?” she questions, catching up to him in the quiet of the woods. Pulling the ends of her jacket together to ward off the cold, she allows her shoulder to bump into his. There’s no one here to see it, after all.

“I thought it would be nice to be alone, hm?” He smiles vaguely, as if he hadn’t just made her heart jump out her chest with those words alone. “I wanted to show you where the sky looks best.”

She perks up, quickening her steps to match his more easily. “Yeah? Even more beautiful than back there?”

“Definitely.”

And just as he whispers it, they step into an open clearing, and enter a world that’s made of nothing but the starry night sky.

 _“Wow,”_ Yui squeaks, jogging on ahead, splaying her arms at her sides. The stars blink back at her from every which direction, like she could just float away and touch one, right into the beautiful vastness.

“Right?” Daichi chuckles, and tugs her with him to a nearby tree trunk, where they sit hip to hip and don’t have to worry at all about who can see. Yui flushes, but he must not see it in this darkness.

“Do you know what any of them are called?” she asks eagerly, rounding on him.

“Hmm…” Searching the array of stars, he picks out a single cluster to point out. “Well,  _that_ one is called Eridanus. It’s means “river’s end.” The brightest star in the constellation is called Achernar.”

 _“Really?”_  she squawks, in absolute awe.

“No,” Daichi chuckles, offering a sheepish look when her awe flattens into a pout. “Sorry, I actually made that up. But, ah, don’t be mad. I actually brought you out here to show you something.” Urging her curious eyes to follow his line of sight, he points some place far, far away, and tells her, “That’s where I first saw Michimiya’s Comet.”

“Oh,  _hush,_ you did not!” she huffs, swatting his arm. “You’re just making all that up, too!”

“Well, maybe it’s not officially called Michimiya’s Comet,” he relents, laughing, “but that’s what I call it. A year ago my family came up this trail on a trip, and I saw a comet go by. And I realized it was the first of August — your birthday. And, thus, I dubbed it Michimiya’s Comet.”

Yui’s breath stills in her throat. She thinks of that birthday one year ago, of receiving a birthday message from Sawamura that had thrilled her so much she had floundered on her bed. Suddenly it’s even more special than she could have ever thought.

“You named a  _comet_ after me?” she squeaks, unblinking.

“Yeah.” He smiles softly, and when he leans back on one hand it unknowingly settles on top of hers. Neither one of them pull away. “Ahh, it’d be nice if it appeared tonight, don’t you think?”

“I’d like to see it together,” she agrees quietly, tugging on his sleeve. “But this much is nice, too.”

Daichi grins, turning at her tug, and they both lean in for a kiss together. It’s soft, nice.

Yui lays her head on his shoulder after, as he holds her hand more tightly.

.

Neither are sure when quietly staring at the sky together accidentally turns into a quick doze, but Yui wakes when her head lolls off his shoulder and she finds he had rested his atop hers. They both catch themselves in time, sharing muddled looks.

“How long were we out?” she asks, rubbing at her eyes.

“Not too long.” He puts his phone back in his pocket, then stares down at their joined hands, still intertwined even through sleep. “Let’s stay a bit longer?”

“I like being alone with you,” she replies, and has the satisfaction of seeing his neck take on color.

“Yeah, I… same.” He gruffly clears his throat.

“A charmer,” she teases, knocking into him.

He tries again, adamant about getting it right. “I mean, it’s nice. That I can hold your hand like this. Or put my head on yours. Kiss you…”

“Mmm,” she hums quietly, in agreement, pulling him closer. She splays her legs over his thighs, trying to tangle together as best as she can in this position, wanting the closeness for as long as they’re alone. In moments like these, she’s not even shy.

In moments like these, Daichi’s shy enough for both of them.

He ghosts his fingers up one of her calves, not meeting her eyes. A finger traces an old volleyball scar.

“Sawamura, that tickles,” she tells him, wrinkling her nose.

His hand stills. He doesn’t pull away, but lays it flat against her leg instead. The hold on her other hand tightens enough to almost hurt.

“Let’s tell them,” he says suddenly. “Everyone, I mean. I don’t want to hide this anymore.”

She bites her lip, fighting down a smile. “Okay.”

“You’re fine with it?” He meets her eyes sharply.

“I’m fine with whatever you’re fine with.”

“…Yeah,” he breathes, almost silent. “Yeah, let’s tell them.”

“Then I can wipe sauce off your face whenever I want,” she says, just as breathless, watching his face. It’s unsaid, so silent that both of them almost don’t hear it:  _then I can kiss you whenever I want._

His hand suddenly clamps down on her leg, constricting so hard it’s impossible not to feel his presence. Here. With her. So close that she hears when his breath stills.

He leans in.

Another kiss, Yui thinks, flushed, and leans in to meet him.

She’s wrong, though. For the first time, she’s wrong about Daichi. It’s not  _another_ kiss. It’s one of those kisses that start off slow, the kind where he takes her plump lips between his and kisses them softly, thoroughly — then suddenly she feels the flick of a tongue, hears a soft groan from the back of his throat, and Daichi’s jaw is moving  _hard_ over hers.

She falters at the unexpected roughness, hand coming round to cup his neck, to hold herself together as she kisses back just as hard. His hand slides up her calf, comes to rest on her bare thigh where his thumb sketches slow circles, and she whimpers.

Daichi angles his head the other way, leans his whole body into her space, and just keeps kissing her like she’s going to disappear like a comet cutting across the sky.

“Sawamura,” she whines, when he pulls away for a single instant. He pauses. “I need to breathe.”

“I…  _sorry,”_  he huffs, leaning away. He goes back to rubbing her leg soothingly, but not in that way that makes her want to wrap them around his waist. There’s no flush anywhere on his face this time, not like her.

As they return to quietly staring at the sky, her heartbeat in her ears, Yui muses that maybe she would never get used to Sawamura.

.

“Ah! There they are!”

They hear Nishinoya’s voice first, as they appear from within the dark woods and back to the clearing.

Suga flashes them a disapproving look. “Don’t worry everyone, disappearing like that, you two.”

But they can tell no one’s really been worried at all, not when it’s Daichi who had vanished and not anyone else. And besides, the focus shifts rapidly from their timely reappearance to the hands at their sides, fingers clasped together.

“No  _way!”_ Tanaka squawks first, into the silence, and earns himself a swat to the head from Kiyoko, who’s smiling vaguely.

“So  _that’s_ what the sauce thing was about,” Hinata booms, looking mighty proud of himself like he’d cracked some sort of code.

“Yeah, that and about a million other things,” Tsukishima scoffs from somewhere in the crowd. “Are you seriously only just now figuring it out?”

A scuffle breaks out, as Hinata lunges at the blonde with a hiss, and attention shifts away once again just as quickly as it had fallen on the couple.

Yui presses her cheek to Daichi’s arm, peering around him at their mass of friends. “I think they’re okay with it.”

“Yeah, so I can do this,” he ponders. And with half the team watching, he presses a sloppy kiss at the very corner of her mouth.


End file.
